The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Money
Add some luxury – and make it pay
More of us are building pools, gyms and loggias at home. Investing in the right ‘toy’ can make your house stand out and increase its value, says Arabella Youens
The property market has soared in the past year, as lockdowns forced homeowners to decide exactly what they wanted and needed in a home. Now, those with big properties want to create a family hub with everything needed for work, fitness and leisure, right on their doorstep.
Agents working in the market for the priciest country houses have reported that leisure facilities such as gyms and swimming pools – “toys” in their lexicon – are becoming increasingly important to buyers.
When it comes to the crunch, these are the sort of extras that can help to persuade buyers to seal the deal. And that matters in the current ultra-competitive property market, where bidding wars are taking place and house prices are rising sharply. So is it worth investing in these luxuries, and can they boost house prices?
TAKE A DIP
With the advent of no-frills flights in the early 2000s, the architect Richard Parr spent his time filling in swimming pools that had been installed during the 1970s and 1980s. They were no longer being used in the summer months as their owners preferred instead to swim in the Mediterranean.
Now, after a year of lockdowns and travel restrictions, he is adding pools to virtually every house he works on. Country house owners are in particular demanding freshwater versions which use more sophisticated systems.
These types of pools are also cheaper to run, according to Clear Water Revival, natural pool designers based in Bristol. Joel Scott, of the firm, has found that demand for this option has increased hugely in the past five years.
If the thermal design of the pool was right, and used an automatic solar cover, it wasn’t as expensive to heat as many assumed, added Andrew Cox of Origin Aqua, a pool company. “One client keeps the heating on all year, at a cooler temperature in the winter, at an annual cost of £500.” Solar covers can reduce heating costs by 50pc to 70pc.
“Ours uses a unique combination of beneficial microbes and minerals in place of disinfectants to sanitise pool water, without the need for plants,” added Mr Cox. This new tech can also be retrofitted to existing pools.
Lyme Regis
This house has a big heated pool and a fully kitted out gym.
Costs to install an outdoor swimming pool vary wildly according to the style, finish and the infrastructure surrounding it. Mr Scott recommended budgeting between £80,000 and £120,000 for a prefabricated design, with chlorinefree technology rising to £150,000 and over for a fully tiled natural pool with an automatic pump and air-source heating system.
With all that investment, is it possible to make a return? You could rent it out to earn some cash. Nicknamed the “Airbnb for pools and courts”, Ploot is a marketplace where owners can rent out their pools and courts by the hour. Homeowners can make £30 to £50 an hour, while those with indoor pools can earn in excess of £100,000 a year.
It’s harder to pinpoint if a swimming pool adds value to a property price. In reality, it would boil down to individual buyers, said Charlie Wells of Prime Purchase, a buying agency.
“One of my clients bought a house with the most astonishing pool complex including a three-metre diving area,” he said. “The buyer was won over by the facilities and knew his eight-year- old son would go crazy.”
PUMPING IRON
When public gyms closed, most of us turned to home-based solutions, panicbuying weights and resistance bands in the same manner as lavatory paper. Thanks to the growth of apps and virtual workouts, this trend of exercising at home looks like it may be here to stay. The Swedish brand Eleiko, a supplier of fitness and conditioning equipment, has recorded a 1,800pc increase in sales since the first lockdown.
Home gyms can be set up in spare rooms with a Peloton, suspension straps or interactive mirrors that broadcast workout routines. A more advanced gym with space for cardio, yoga and weights will require between 50 and 200 sq ft of space. Of course, if you want a barre for ballet, a cross trainer and space for a Swiss ball, you’ll need more room.
Zanna Van Dijk, a personal trainer, used to work with her clients in private gyms and studios, but after these closed she took her training online and hosted live workouts from her London flat. When she and her partner moved to a new house in Surrey, they created a home gym in the garage.
She installed a squat rack loaded with barbells, plates and a bench alongside various cardio machines and free floor space. “It allows us to do everything from heavy lifting through to bodyweight training,” Ms Van Dijk said.
Eleiko said that fully kitting out a functional fitness space would start at £5,000, rising to more than £12,000 for top spec. These sums are on top of outbuilding conversion costs; Ben Horne of Middleton Advisors, a buying agency, estimated that to be close to £150 a sq ft.
Does it add value to a property? At the top end of the market, yes. “As fitness becomes more and more important, we get requests for home gym facilities all the time,” Mr Wells said.
“If you are spending more than £5m on a house you want all this, or the opportunity to create it.”
LET’S GO OUTSIDE
The market for flats has slumped in the past year, as outdoor space became the priority for many buyers.
Such is the demand at the moment that Edward Heaton, a buying agent at Heaton & Partners, said terraces and gardens were playing an increasingly important role in valuations, particularly for properties located in city centres.
Outdoor dining has, by necessity, taken on new levels of importance. The problem, of course, is our irascible climate. One solution is to build a covered outdoor space such as a loggia where you can sit, cook and eat even if it’s drizzling. Some are putting heating under the paving to keep it dry and comfortable.
These are effectively dining rooms without any walls, explained Rodrigo Moreno Massey, an architect. “Creating shelter from the elements, be it wind or rain or a fire to gather around, has become key.”
His practice has recently completed a farmhouse near Andover with a room attached to the house by way of a minimal glass extension. It is a completely enclosed space that opens on to the terrace, but functions as a separate area for entertaining.
The interior designer Rosie Ward of Ward & Co said she was finding that clients were now willing to invest a lot more to ensure their outdoor spaces were usable all year round.
Cooking facilities in these spaces range from pizza ovens to more exotic designs including Boma tables, which have grills at the centre and convert into a firepit. But that isn’t enough for some keen cooks, who now want fully operational kitchens ( including dishwashers).
If there is no outbuilding ripe for conversion, or building a loggia seems a step too far, Twilight Trees, an outdoors accessories company, recently started selling Living Spaces Domes. Priced from £1,995, they are transpar
PRICE £1.275m
AGENT Hamptons ent garden pods that fit at least six people around a table. Amelia Locke from the firm said: “We thought most interest would be from the hospitality industry, but it was amazing how people responded to the idea of an extra ‘ bubble’ of space in their gardens.”
When it came to establishing the value added, it was all down to condition, explained Mr Horne.
“Houses with everything done to a high standard attract more attention, as buyers don’t have to speculate on what it might cost to add these extras.”
£3.95m
AGENT Savills
The Lookout sits on 58 acres and has a heated pool.
SURREY Wheatleys Eyot £2.45m
AGENT Knight Frank