Homeowners could add almost £50,000 to the value of their home in just a week!

Research from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and the HomeOwners Alliance (HOA) has shown that certain renovations can add tens of thousands of pounds to the value of your property in a very short space of time. "By investing less than £3,500 on the creation of an open-plan kitchen and diner, home owners in London can add a whopping £50,000 to the value of their home in just one week," says Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB. 

"If you're looking to move up the property ladder, it's obviously in your best interests to increase the value of your home as much as possible. By investing in low cost, high return projects, not only will you make your home a more pleasant place to live, you'll also be increasing its value significantly.

"Better still, these projects take no time at all, so the hassle factor will be kept to an absolute minimum."

Here are some ways that you can add value to your home:

Removing Internal walls

At the top of the list of value adding home renovations is the removal of internal walls with the aim of creating an open plan kitchen/diner. The research showed that this could cost £3,426 but could add £48,417 in value to an average-priced London home in just seven days - this is a 1,313% return on the money invested.

Create a garden room or outside playroom

For £6,653 you could hire builders to create a garden room or outside playroom which could increase the value of a home by £35,611 to a typically priced home in Surrey.

Kitchen Refurbishment

Refurbishing a kitchen with new flooring, worktop and cabinet doors would cost £4,127 and could potentially add £26,838 in eight days to an average-priced home in Dorset.

Adding bathrooms

Converting a cupboard under the stairs into a downstairs toilet can add £26,708 in seven days to a typically priced home in Surrey - at a cost of £2,622. A second option is to convert part of the master bedroom into an en-suite bathroom which boosts the price of an average London home by £14,525 in 11 days at a cost of £4,713.

Adding a driveway

Adding a driveway can add £13,354 in nine days to a Surrey home at a cost of £2,208

Garden Renovations

Installing decking and lighting in the back garden can add £8,946 in seven days to average Dorset home with the work costing £3,971.

Not all home renovations will add value to the property and homeowners shouldn't assume this: for example, homeowners in London and the North East would add no value to their home after spending £3,971 on garden decking and lighting.

For a full list of projects, costs and the value they can add to your home broken down by region, visit here