Natural light is the key to homeowner happiness – with a select few residents willing to fork out an extra £15,000 - £20,000 above the asking price to guarantee this.
According to the latest data from aluminium glazing specialists Express Bi-folding Doors, 84 per cent of individuals value natural light greatly when buying their dream property, with homeowners in Edinburgh (91%) seeing it as being the most vital, closely followed by Liverpool and Bristol (both 89%).
The results from the survey of more than 2,000 homeowners also show that on average people were willing to pay £4,786 on top of their budget for the luxury of a home with good natural light. Plymouth tops the following Top 10 list of UK cities willing to cough up more budget for a home with natural light with £7,522, closely followed by Glasgow at £5,878, Birmingham at £5,506 and people in Edinburgh willing to pay £5,498.
The survey findings are backed by celebrity interior designer, Linda Barker, who says: “Most of us crave natural light in our homes. A simple trick to cheat extra daylight into a room, is to position a mirror opposite a window as it will have the benefit of doubling the light effect.
“A large window that opens-up onto a garden space serves to enhance our sense of wellbeing and can quite literally connect us to the natural world. There are scientific studies to show that looking out onto greenspace can improve our mental health. Sliding windows are my favourite window style and are most effective at connecting the inside with the outside, allowing light to flood a room and make us feel all the better for it.”
Steve Bromberg, General Manager for Express Bi-Folding Doors, who conducted the survey, adds: “The greatest feature of natural light in the home is that it’s completely free! Its importance has always been difficult to measure, however our survey clearly highlights that homeowners view it as integral to their property, are willing to pay a premium for it and heavily rely on it to boost their mood and wellbeing.”
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