Good neighbours premium could add up to £20,000 to your house price

last updated 24 June 2022

Your neighbours have a far bigger impact on your home than you may realise. In fact, buyers have admitted to being willing to pay up to £20,000 more for a home as a good neighbours premium.

Good neighbours don't just impact your experience where you live, but they can affect your homes kerb appeal. If the outside of their home doesn't look tidy that is going to have an effect on your home.

Property experts at PriceYourJob.co.uk surveyed 2,341 homeowners to find out what neighbourly features brits would be willing to pay a premium for. Neighbours with a well-kept garden topped the list with 75 per cent of Brits willing to pay extra.

exterior of house with brick walls white window and wooden door

A well-kept driveway came in second with 67 per cent of Brits naming this as worth paying extra for. Another 58 per cent said they'd happily pay a premium for neighbours with no overflowing rubbish bins. However, 56 per cent said they'd pay extra to have the bins out of sight.

The concern over bins is unsurprising as it is often a contentious issue between neighbours. A survey by SaveOnEnergy revealed that 66 per cent of Brits would fine their neighbours £20 for overflowing bins.

However, you don't need to worry about having neighbours with a flashy car. Only 8 per cent of respondents said they'd be willing to pay extra for neighbours with modern/well-kept cars in the drive.

exterior of house with white walls and black window frames

Overall, the majority of respondents said they'd be willing to pay 1 to 3 per cent over the asking price to guarantee good neighbours. In London where the average price tag for a property is £659,985, this would add an additional £19,800 to the price.

In more affordable Yorkshire, where the average house price is £180,177, this would add on an additional £5,405.

If you are selling up and have good neighbours, make sure you include this as a selling point to take advantage of the good neighbour premium.

Rebecca Knight has been the Deputy Editor on the Ideal Home Website since 2022. She graduated with a Masters degree in magazine journalism from City, University of London in 2018, before starting her journalism career as a staff writer on women's weekly magazines. She fell into the world of homes and interiors after joining the Ideal Home website team in 2019 as a Digital Writer. In 2020 she moved into position of Homes News Editor working across Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc, Real Homes, Gardeningetc and Ideal Home covering everything from the latest viral cleaning hack to the next big interior trend.