This bathroom material is guaranteed to sell your home quicker and add value

Bathroom expert names the one material that is worth investing in for bathrooms if you're thinking of selling

If you're planning on selling your home any time soon, you're probably already aware of how important it is to make the different rooms in the house more appealing to buyers. From freshly-painted kitchens to kerb appeal, and from great flooring to a spruced-up garden, making strategic home improvements can really help sell a house faster – and add value.

But while property advice for sellers often focuses on kitchens and gardens, bathrooms are not to be neglected when selling. Brand new research by Showers Direct has identified one specific type of bathroom that sells homes like hot pancakes.

Marble bathrooms will sell your home

white marble bathroom with wash basin and bathtub

(Image credit: Future PLC/ David Giles)

It turns out that a marble bathroom really has the edge with buyers, who are searching out this luxurious material more than ever. The term ‘white marble’ is incredibly popular and has over 53,000 global monthly searches, with over 5,900 monthly searches coming from the UK. Marble bathrooms specifically are searched for almost 7,000 times every month.

The popularity of white marble for bathrooms spikes in the summer, perhaps because people are specifically looking for a material that is cooling and quick drying. Adam Leech, bathroom expert at Showers Direct, explains the appeal of marble further: 'After 80 years in the business, we know that white marble is a great option for your bathroom due to the colour's natural reflective qualities, helping your bathroom keep naturally cool during the day. Combining this with marble's density, and its ability to conduct heat quickly, this reflectivity means that marble continues to transfer and reduce heat quickly. This results in marble and your bathroom, in general, taking longer to warm up and creating a cool to the touch feel, even on a hot summer day.'

bathroom with white wall bathtub white door

(Image credit: Future PLC/ David Giles)

We would add also that marble bathrooms are what many people associate with luxury holidays abroad, and recreating those Italian hotel-style bathroom ideas at home is hugely appealing.

How much more will a house with a marble bathroom fetch when selling? Of course, this depends on the overall condition of the property. A marble bathroom is a luxury feature and will need to be in keeping with a high-end style throughout the house. However, Adam says that for a discerning 10 per cent of British buyers, £10k for a luxurious extra bathroom is an appropriate price to pay, and that 'extra bathrooms have the potential to add between 4-5% onto your home's value.'

bathroom with grey wall wash basin and shelf

(Image credit: Future PLC/ James Merrell)

We're all for it – and if you don't want to spend a lot of kitting out an entire bathroom in marble, Adam recommends researching marble bathroom ideas using marble tile. You could even have a feature wall in marble that would instantly elevate the look.

Anna Cottrell is Consumer Editor across Future's home brands. She moved to the world of interiors from academic research in the field of English Literature and photography. She is the author of London Writing of the 1930s and has a passion for contemporary home decor and gardening.