Yes, size does matter, but in the right context. The accurate answer is not a simple yes or no. Size is all about finding the right balance within a particular home, taking into account the home’s likely occupants, the area, and maybe even the exact position within that area. The key factor with size is blending that space in the correct proportion.
For example, you have a 100 square-metre section of a home arranged as four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Typically the main bedroom would be a larger room, the three remaining bedrooms all a similar size to each other, and the remaining area would be the two bathrooms and corridor. If that same space was laid out as three huge bedrooms and one bathroom, that same space would have a lower value. If you could decrease the master by a few metres and reduce bathroom number 2 to enable the creation of bathroom number 3, that home’s value could be higher.
A block of land around 800 square metres could be worth less than its 600-square-metre neighbours if the smaller block was on a corner, or offered a better view or aspect. Size doesn’t always matter. A suburban 600-square-metre block could have a similar price tag to a 4000-square-metre block 10 kms out of town.
Perhaps you have a large open living area incorporating a kitchen. That total space could be a reasonable 70 square metres overall, you decide to make it bigger, extend and add 20 square metres. The total value add to your home would be negligible. If you utilised that extra space specifically as a butler’s pantry and study, you would be adding tangible value to the price of the home. It’s not just adding space that adds value, it is what you do with it!
Finally, think balance. For a family home, one huge open-plan living space, while visually pleasing, may be better divided to create an area with a separate function, such as a play area, study or media space.
If you ever wondered why our residential real estate is not valued at a dollar-per-square-metre rate, it’s because there are too many variables that influence a property’s market value.
To answer the analogy, size does matter sometimes, but just adding space at random without consideration of the home overall does not guarantee that added space will become added value.
