Home improvements can be a fantastic way to increase the value of your property, however, costly renovations can sometimes lead to disappointing financial losses.

New data published has revealed the best and worst home improvements for increasing the value of your property, and some of them might surprise you. 

Click or scroll on for nine renovations it pays to tackle and nine you should leave well alone...

Creating a private driveway or off-street parking space in front of your home could result in a modest profit of just over £482. Most importantly though, it could prove particularly attractive to potential buyers. New data published by Henry Pryor, a property expert for GoCompare, found that 56% of people searching for a new home were turned off by a lack of parking, while 53% suggested that a driveway or parking space was vital.

With the average drive conversion costing £6,500, your home’s value could increase by £6,982 – just be sure to check with your local authority if you need planning permission before work starts.

Installing a new roof isn't a project to undertake on a whim. It can be an expensive job, with most homeowners paying between £4,000 and £19,000 depending on the roof style and complexity. However, if your roof is worse for wear and you want to ensure your home is watertight and energy-efficient, you could make a small profit from this renovation.

With the average project price sitting at £6,500, a new roof could increase your house value by £6,982. Plus, it may offer reassurance to buyers if you're looking to sell.

Energy efficiency has proved to be one of the top priorities for property hunters, with an astonishing 46% confirming that cavity wall insulation is essential to them.

Making sensible energy-saving improvements around your home costs an average of £2,075, but could increase the value of your home by just over £4,645 – not to mention the amount of cash you could save on lower energy bills.

Knocking down internal walls is one of the smartest things you can do to your home. Savvy house-hunters are seeking properties with spacious and light-filled interiors and opening rooms up can do just that, increasing the value of your home by just over £4,645.

With open-plan renovation projects costing around £2,000, you’d walk away with a little over £2,645 in profit – just make sure you consult a structural engineer before you begin in case you're dealing with load-bearing walls.

Unsurprisingly, double glazing is a must for most buyers, with 80% of those surveyed by GoCompare saying they class it as an essential feature when purchasing a property.

It adds £9,291 to a home's value, and with an average outlay of £6,000, there's a good profit to be made.

Protect your home with the latest digital security system. Costing on average £560 to install, having a decent safety net in place could increase your home’s value by just over £4,645, giving you a fantastic profit of around £4,085. If that doesn't help you sleep well at night, we don't know what will!

This one is a little more obvious with 82% of homebuyers citing central heating as a "must". With the average installation costing £3,500, the value of your property could soar by £11,400, netting you a hefty profit of £7,900.

Plus, radiators these days can act as fantastic statement pieces, like the trendy geometric one pictured here.

Surprisingly, one of the simplest home improvements you can make is among the best for adding value. According to Pryor’s findings, more than a third of home-seekers want a new, energy-efficient boiler.

With the average cost of a new boiler set at around £3,250, this simple installation will add £11,400 to the value of your home, leaving you with £8,150 to play with.

Believe it or not, installing an electric car charging point could increase your home's value by more than 13%. With so many people looking to decrease their carbon footprint and live more sustainably, electric car stations make a clever, future-proof investment.

The average cost of a charging point comes in at £1,150, but your home’s value could increase by a staggering £37,050. Now that's a return to really get excited about.

But not every renovation project will result in a return on your investment. Despite what we've had drummed into us over many years, adding an extra bedroom does not necessarily increase the value of your home.

With an average expenditure of £10,000, a costly project of this scale would only add about £6,982 to your home's value, resulting in a loss of just over £3,017. So unless you really need it to accommodate a growing family, you might want to weigh up if you think it's worth the effort.

While having off-street or driveway parking can add money to your home, building a garage can actually result in a loss of £4,209.

The typical cost of a garage comes in at £13,500 and offers an increase in home value of £9,291, proving that utilising your driveway could be far more financially beneficial.

While having a brand new bathroom might sound appealing, renovating this space could leave you out of pocket by £4,650. The average cost of installing a new suite is £7,500, yet having a nice new bathroom only increases a home’s value by £2,850.

While an outdated bathroom stops 22% of people from buying, a home with more than one toilet is sought-after by 53% of property hunters.

According to Pryor's research, almost one in five prospective buyers would avoid putting an offer in on a home with an overgrown garden, while 31% would be turned off if the garden featured broken or rotten fencing.

However, this isn't an easy win. With the average cost of a garden transformation coming in at £9,500 and yielding a value increase of just £2,850, you're more likely to lose money than make a profit.

Loft conversions have long been touted as the ideal way to expand your home interior if you lack the space to extend horizontally or don't want to encroach on your garden.

However, this popular renovation can actually lose you around £6,744. On average, loft conversions cost £30,000, yet only increase your property value by £23,256. So it pays to think twice before you extend vertically.

It seems that the heyday of the conservatory might be over. Costing an average of £19,625 to complete, this home-expanding project will only add £9,291 to your property's value, leaving you with a loss of £10,334. 

If you're after a light-filled reading spot in your forever home, this renovation may still make sense, but if you want to invest in your house, this might be a project to steer clear of.

Small rooms put off 40% of homebuyers, but before you commit to that extension, remember that building costs have gone up, so instead of making a profit, you may end up with a financial loss.

The average home extension now costs £48,000, though they only actually add around £34,855 to your home's value.

Though switching to renewable energy can save you money on your annual electricity bills, purchasing solar panels for your home could see you out of pocket by just over £13,825.

With the typical fitting coming in at nearly £9,180, solar panels could actually decrease the value of your home by around £4,645.

Definitely one for the luxurious among us, installing a swimming pool at home could leave you out of pocket by £32,663, making it the biggest way to lose money through renovations right now. 

With the average cost of installation coming in at £35,000, swimming pools only add £2,337 to the value of a home, so unless you are planning to have pool parties every weekend, is it really worth it?

So, if you’re looking to add value to your home, avoid over-indulgent purchases like swimming pools and stick to the basics. Turn to your windows, boiler and driveway for cheap and easy solutions to improving your property’s value and kerb appeal.

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