We all know that the skylight/rooflight/lantern roof market has been booming in the last few years. In fact it is one of the niches that has experienced some of the strongest growth out all of sectors in the wider industry. There have been a high number of roof fabricators bringing out their own dedicated lantern roof and skylight products. And they’re selling in good numbers. But can they really add £40,000 to the value of your house?

£5k to £40k

This sky high estimate comes from Sunsquare boss Justin Seldis and is contained within an article published in the Telegraph online on the 19th September. Here is what he says:

“It’s said that when you buy a home, you’re often buying the kitchen and garden,” says co-owner Justin Seldis.

“The kitchen is now often seen as the heart of the family home and it’s the room that often gets used the most, so why not have the wow factor? Skylights are a way to make the room feel open and to cut down on lightbulbs.”

The article goes on…

Seldis says skylights not only add to the living experience of a family inside the home, but they also make a property more attractive to future sellers.

Spending £5,000 installing a skylight could add £40,000 to the value of a home in London, he says.

Wish I had a house in London I could add £40k by putting in a skylight!

Realistic?

If you go on to read the rest of the article, it reads pretty much as an advertorial for Sunsquare, so perhaps a pinch of salt should be taken whilst reading about how much value a product like this can really add to a property.

I guess in London, where property prices are already way over the top, something like a skylight or a lantern roof could add a few tens of thousands. But leave the capital and I seriously doubt that any lantern or skylight could add as much as £40k to the value of any property.

Remember when conservatories were supposed to add value to a home? That idea was peddled hard, yet in the end they brought little to no monetary value to many of the properties they were built to. I suspect that the same might well apply to this growing niche.

Value not the point

When all said and done, products like lantern roofs and skylights aren’t really products that people have installed at home to add value to then sell the property. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe these are the sorts of things people will add to their homes just before selling up. But I just can’t see it.

The point of these products are to transform previously boring rooms. Kitchens that lack light and space. Flat roof extensions that feel shallow and hemmed in. Hallways that need opening up. These simple yet effective products have a unique ability to transform any room by simply opening up a roof.

Read the Telegraph article

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