Add light, add value

Location, location, location. No truer words have been spoken when it comes to selling or leasing a property. Present a sun-drenched property and the battle’s half won, according to the thousands of rental adverts and properties for sale, and research indicates that home buyers are putting natural light as a priority.

According to research by Lonergan on behalf of CSR¹, second and third home buyers were surveyed at three key Display Villages in Sydney, with all respondents indicating  they would pay extra to improve natural light in the home. Understanding the importance of natural light to both their wellbeing and the resale of the home, half of the respondents interviewed were prepared to spend up to $5,000 to ensure their new property was adequately built with natural light as a priority.

From the research we can understand that existing home owners understand the importance of orientation and aspect of the property on the block and the affect this will have throughout the seasons if you get this right. Gone are the cookie-cutter models of the 1970’s when houses were built alongside one another on newly built roads. Now we are seeing carefully thought out designs to suit new blocks and increase the amount of natural light the property receives throughout the year.  

With almost a fifth of respondents surveyed willing to spend more than $5,000 on additional means to enhance their homes access to natural light, its clear; the right size windows in the correct place with suitable glazing will be an effective investment over the life of your home.  Quite aside from the liveability of the home you and your family live in, a small investment in natural light up-front could see big returns when it's time to sell.

Modification of existing under-glazed dwellings to lift their appeal and resale value is inherently more difficult.  However there are some remedial strategies such as applying to trim large trees blocking windows, install skylights or glazed canopies, enlarge existing windows or reglaze existing windows with higher performing glass to allow your windows to be decluttered of curtains, blinds and other obstacles to letting the light in. 

---

^{1. [Display Villages Report, June 2014 by Lonergan Research]?}

The Living Space is brought to you by Viridian New World Glass.