We all want to help make our house as attractive as possible, even if we plan to stay in our home for years to come, it’s still nice to know that our property is going to be worth more when we sell it one day, whether to move up the ladder or to downsize.

And if you’re lucky enough to have a nice garden or outdoor space, there’s almost no end of possibilities to upgrade your home, from nicer fencing to a new lawn, a greenhouse, or even an outdoor summer house.

But as well intentioned as your house and garden changes might be, they don’t always end up boosting the value of your home after all.

Ruth Beeton, of Home Sale Pack, warns that adding a pond to your garden could actually lower the value of your house.

Ponds are extremely good for the environment, attracting and sustaining key wildlife like frogs and toads, as well as insects which in turn can provide food for birds and hedgehogs.

Another upside is that the frogs and toads will rip through your slug and snail populations, which helps in the ongoing and seemingly never-ending war against the slugs and snails gardeners wage every year.

But on the downside, a pond could knock 1.8 percent off your house’s value, or £5,000 on an average priced home.

A swimming pool is much more significantly damaging to your house price though. While it might seem like an upmarket and boujie upgrade, putting a swimming pool in your back garden can actually reduce the value of your home by up to £55,000.

That’s because, as well as a possible safety risk to young children, a pool requires a lot of maintenance and slaps £50-100 onto your monthly energy bills just to power it, unless you couple it with solar panels and a battery.

It’s also expensive to remove a pool, which means home buyers who don’t want one will still have to fork out thousands to turn it back into a lawn or patio.

Things which do add value include a downstairs toilet, an extension, a home office space or a garden room, as long as you have the space for it.