Demand for a home office soars in London & adding one could boost your property value by £41k

June 11, 2020

Across London, demand for homes with a home office has increased notably since the start of lockdown, up from 8% to 27%according to research by leading lettings and estate agent, Benham and Reeves.

Benham and Reeves looked at the number of homes listed online with a home office as a featured selling point and what proportion of these homes were already under offer or sold subject to contract as a percentage of all properties listed.

The data shows that currently, 27% of all stock listed with a home office has now been snapped up by London homebuyers, a huge increase on the 8% demand seen in March.

Not surprisingly, this demand is far higher in London’s more peripheral boroughs, accounting for the top 10 most in demand, with homebuyers looking to avoid a commute into the city with their own home office.

Bexley saw the highest demand for this property feature with 53% of properties with a home office already sold subject to contract or under offer. Hillingdon, Bromley, Croydon, Redbridge, Ealing, Havering, Waltham Forest, Haringey and Richmond also placed in the top 10 for home office, homebuyer demand.

How much does a home office cost?

If you’re holding tight on a move, a home office can be a fairly affordable addition to your home providing you have the additional space. For an average cost of £450 you can kit out your spare room with a desk, chair, PC, keyboard and mouse, while broadband will set you back roughly £32 a month, with the additional use of utilities coming in at £19.

While this total set up will cost you £501 for the initial first month, a fair chunk more than the average £238 cost of commuting in London, it soon starts to pay for itself with broadband and utility bills averaging £51 a month thereafter.

Adding a home office to your home

If you don’t have the extra space for a home office, investing in one could be a worthwhile addition to your home. A small extension to your property, such as an additional room, conservatory or loft conversion will set you back between £16-£21,000.

According to the Hiscox, such an extension could boost your property price by an average of 8.4%. On the current London house price of £485,794, that’s an increase of £40,807.

Alternatively you could add an outdoor office to your garden if you have the space. A basic cabin style outbuilding will start at around £4,000 but can climb to over £20,000 for the more sophisticated ones. However, these are unlikely to add as much value to your overall property’s value so an extension is money better spent if you do have the budget.

Demand for properties with a home office listed on the portals
Location / borough
Total listings
Still for Sale
SSTC or Under Offer
Demand
Bexley
55
26
29
53%
Hillingdon
411
245
166
40%
Bromley
137
83
54
39%
Croydon
200
124
76
38%
Redbridge
83
52
31
37%
Ealing
121
76
45
37%
Havering
205
129
76
37%
Waltham Forest
98
63
35
36%
Haringey
74
48
26
35%
Richmond upon Thames
80
53
27
34%
Barking and Dagenham
27
18
9
33.3%
Enfield
68
46
22
32.4%
Sutton
100
68
32
32.0%
Islington
48
33
15
31.3%
Lambeth
94
65
29
30.9%
Merton
103
73
30
29.1%
Greenwich
57
41
16
28.1%
Wandsworth
133
97
36
27.1%
Kingston upon Thames
139
103
36
25.9%
Brent
82
62
20
24.4%
Lewisham
55
42
13
23.6%
Hounslow
86
66
20
23.3%
Harrow
113
88
25
22.1%
Barnet
252
198
54
21.4%
Tower Hamlets
52
42
10
19.2%
Southwark
73
60
13
17.8%
Kensington and Chelsea
24
20
4
16.7%
Hammersmith and Fulham
37
31
6
16.2%
Newham
59
51
8
13.6%
Hackney
31
27
4
12.9%
Westminster
43
38
5
11.6%
Camden
36
33
3
8.3%
City of London
5
5
0
0.0%
Average at start of lockdown
8%
Change
19%
Average now
27%
Average cost to set up basic home office
Item
Average price
£200
£100
£120
£20
£10
Total
£450
Monthly Running Cost Once Set Up
Home Office
£51
£238
Saving
£187
Extension
Cost
£16-21,000
£3,815-£28,000

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