Home improvements can be a fantastic way to increase the value of your home, but costly renovations can sometimes lead to financial losses. New data published by Henry Pryor, a property expert for GoCompare, has revealed the best and worst home improvements for increasing the value of your property. 

According to Pryor's research, almost one in five property pursuers would avoid putting an offer in on a home with an overgrown garden, while 31% would be turned off if the garden featured broken or rotten fencing. With the average cost of a garden transformation coming in at just £1,500, having a pretty backyard could increase the value of your home by £2,000, giving you a pleasant profit.

Knocking down internal walls is one of the smartest things you can do to your home. Savvy house shoppers are seeking properties with spacious and light-filled interiors, and opening rooms up can do just this, increasing the value of your home by £4,000! With such renovation projects costing around £1,750, you’d walk away with £2,250 – just make sure you gain planning consent before you begin!

Believe it or not, installing an electric car charging point could increase your home's value by 2%. With so many people looking to decrease their carbon footprint and live more sustainably, electric car stations make a clever, future-proof investment. With the average cost of a charging point coming in at £800, your home’s value could increase by £4,000, giving you £3,200 for the bank.

READ MORE: 27 ways to future-proof your home

Protect your home with the latest digital security system. Costing on average £500 to install, having a decent safety net in place could increase your home’s value by £4,000, giving you a fantastic profit of £3,500. If that doesn't help you sleep well at night, we don't know what will!

Energy efficiency has proved to be one of the top priorities for property hunters, with an astonishing 46% confirming that cavity wall insulation is essential to them. Making sensible energy-saving improvements around your home could cost as little as £475 but could increase the value of your home by £4,000 – not to mention the amount of cash you could save on lower energy bills!

This one is a little more obvious. The third best way to generate extra value for your home is to install central heating. With the average installation costing £4,250, the value of your property could soar by £8,000, thanks to a third of home buyers seeking central heating. Plus, a raft of contemporary designers are now creating gorgeous units that can act as fantastic statement pieces, adding to the look of a room.

It’s amazing to think that creating a private driveway or off-street parking space could provide you with a profit of £4,000. Pryor found that 56% of people searching for a new home were turned off by a lack of parking, while 53% suggested that a driveway or parking space was vital. With the average drive conversion costing £2,000, your home’s value could increase by £6,000 – just make sure you have planning permissions in place before work starts.

Surprisingly, one of the simplest home improvements you can make is also the best for adding value. According to Pryor’s findings, more than a third of home seekers want a new boiler. These days, boilers are sleek and highly energy efficient, like this Greenstar i Combi boiler from Worcester Bosch. With the average new boiler costing around £1,995, this simple installation will add £8,000 to the value of your home, leaving you with £6,005 to pay with.

While having a brand new bathroom might sound appealing, renovating this space could leave you out of pocket by £2,250. The average cost of installing a new suite is £4,250, yet having a nice new bathroom only increases a home’s value by £2,000. While an outdated bathroom stops 22% of people from buying, a home with more than one toilet is sought-after by 53% of property hunters.

 

Being more eco-friendly is a high priority for many, but installing wind turbines to your home could actually lose you a staggering £8,000. With the average installation costing £10,000, this energy-efficient yet unsightly fixture only increases a home’s value by £2,000, according to Pryor's research.

Though switching to renewable energy can save you money on your annual electricity bills, purchasing solar panels for your home could see you out of pocket by £9,000. With the typical fitting coming in at £5,000, solar panels could actually decrease the value of your home by £4,000.

While having off-street or driveway parking can provide you with £4,000's worth of profit, building a garage can actually see you at a loss of £10,620. The typical cost of a garage comes in at £18,620, but only increases the value of a home by £8,000, proving that simply utilising your driveway could be much more financially beneficial.

Though a dream for many, transforming a room into a cool home cinema could actually cost you a whopping £25,500. With the average installation of a cinema coming in at £27,500, at-home entertainment systems only add £2,000 to the value of your home. We suggest saving the popcorn for the real cinema and skipping this renovation! 

Another bucket list favourite for many home owners is having an at-home tennis court. Yet installing one in your garden could see you lose an impressive £30,000. Costing around £36,000 to build, your home’s value may increase by up to £6,000, proving that perhaps tennis is best saved for Wimbledon.

Definitely one for the luxurious among us, installing a swimming pool at home could leave you with a shortfall of £33,000! Though taking a morning swim or hosting fun pool parties may sound like the dream, installing an at-home pool is actually the second worst thing you could do to improve your home. With the average cost coming in at £35,000, swimming pools only add £2,000 to the value of a home.

Though a lovely thing to have, an at-home wine cellar will have absolutely no effect on your property’s value, yet they cost, on average, £46,075 to install. That’s right, wine cellars topped Henry Pryor's list and remain the worst thing you can do to increase the value of your home. Doing so could see you out of pocket by over £46,000!

So, if you’re looking to add value to your home, avoid over-indulgent purchases like wine cellars and tennis courts and stick to the basics. Turn to your garden, boiler and driveway for cheap and easy solutions to improving your property’s value and curb appeal. For more property inspiration, check out our seven clever ways to make money from your home.