Recent claims that having a conservatory could actually lower the value of a home have prompted quite a reaction, not least among those discerning enough to draw a distinction between attractive designer conservatories and cheap, plastic-lined ones that look dated after 20 years and have a poor energy performance.
Indeed, our last blog covered this very issue following claims made by Vince Courtney, the chief sales office at Purple Bricks, in a Daily Mail article. He had claimed that many early 21st century conservatories had proved counterproductive for their owners and questioned the wisdom of building them.
As the Daily Telegraph reports, similar claims have recently been expressed by Andy Bayes of property firm House Buyer Bureau, regarding ‘naff’ conservatories.
However, it looks like this simply backs up the point already made: that the quality of a conservatory is critical in determining whether it adds value to a home or subtracts it. The Telegraph article emphasised this, quoting India Alexander, a head of appraisals at two estate agencies in London, as noting values can be raised by an average of five per cent with a good new conservatory.
Highlighting the way they can add space to a home without “disrupting the existing architectural integrity”, she noted that they can be particularly effective for the purpose of increasing the illumination enjoyed by some older buildings.
“A conservatory or orangery can provide a huge amount of solar gain and light. This is especially beneficial with older homes that traditionally can have low ceilings and dense materials,” she said.
Many older buildings will also lack light due to being built with fewer windows.
For a long time, wealth determined the amount of window coverage homes had; the imposition of the ‘window tax’ to fund military spending in the 1690s (which is the true origin of the phrase ‘daylight robbery’) meant that some homes were built with fewer windows to save cash, while the wealthy built properties with many and large windows to show off their ability to afford the tax.
In homes with fewer and smaller windows, a conservatory may gift light, rather than robbing it – and add value too.