Property market: 'There's no such thing as an unimprovable home'

Twelve months ago, anyone who managed to complete on a home in the South-East, London or the nation's other hotspots, having beaten off a wild-eyed tribe of other frenzied buyers, could expect hero status.

Now try admitting that you took on 12 other parties at sealed bids and - what amazing luck! - you got the house at just 15 per cent over asking price, and see how many plaudits you get. Yet with all around you predicting falling prices and negative equity, acute embarrassment may be the least of your worries.

But is there anything that can be done to shore up your home's value in these nervous times? Oh, yes.

1. Don't move
The first and most effective way of recession-proofing your home is not to sell. Just sit it out; tell yourself that this is your home for the duration. Try to avoid looking in estate agency windows for the next few years.

If you do have to sell, a lot depends on the brute fact of location. Those who bought in, ahem, "marginal" areas are more likely to feel the pinch than those who bought in the best neighbourhoods.

But even more depends on how much you paid in the first place. Try not to dwell on those heady few months in early 2007 when you might have turned a £300,000 profit; think instead of how much your property is worth now and what you can do to buoy up that price.

2. Plan to improve
You may feel your home is beyond improvement. Wrong! There is no such thing as an unimproveable property. Exploit its potential. If you can't afford (or be bothered) to get the work done, simply have plans drawn up to show what could be done and, if necessary, get the planning consent to do it. The great thing about this option is that you don't have any of the mess or hassle of the work, and only a fraction of the expense. House too big for you? Don't let that stop you getting architects' designs for a guest annexe and double garage. Poky house but lavish garden (which is your pride and joy)? Apply for permission to build a block of flats in it.

3. Improve
If you are unsure of the virtue of an extension or simply cannot build one (if you live in a flat, for example), there are cheaper and easier ways of giving the impression of space.

First, take a long, hard look at your layout. Are the rooms really in their optimum places? Is the "flow" of your home right? ("Flow" is very big with sniffy buyers at the moment.) Could any of the reception rooms be knocked together? (You must only do this with reception rooms - Brits still charmingly judge all homes on the number of bedrooms.)

Second, have a ruthless clear-out. "Decluttering", as 1,000 TV pundits have told you, will make a real difference, and it is amazing how much stuff you can do without. If you can't face it yourself, call in a professional clutter consultant who will take cold-blooded pride in ridding you of your mementos, your children's toys and, quite possibly, your children. It may lack heart but it does the asking price no end of good.

Third, invite a crassly tactless acquaintance round for lunch and casually mention that you are considering selling. Take notes as they tell you all the things that will put buyers off. Then work systematically through all the quirky things that gave your property charm during the boom years, but now act as buyer kryptonite.

4. Expand
The best way to add value is to add space in the form of, say, a loft conversion or kitchen extension. Add-ons don't come cheap - the bare minimum cost of turning a loft into the usual bedroom/bathroom combo is £20,000 (add another £5,000 or so for bathroom fittings, tiling, flooring, decoration and furniture); a kitchen extension will be even more.

But in all but the most depressed areas, providing an extra bedroom or a really fantastic kitchen/diner will cost less than the enhanced value. In some areas, it may even be essential if all the other homes around you have been done up.

However, this sort of embellishment is pointless if the structure of your home is left unattended: no one is going to want a new CP Hart bathroom if it comes with a leaky roof. If the fundamentals are dodgy - wiring, heating, plumbing, damp etc - it is better to sell as a project to the Sarah Beeny-fixated.

5. Point Five Properties Target your local school
If you live in the catchment area of an excellent, non-selective school, you can ignore all of the above: the middle classes will move into unconverted plague pits at the bottom of a nuclear waste dump if they think there are a few decent A-level grades in it.

If your local school is doing less well, don't panic. Simply join the board of governors (you don't have to have children to do this). Then research every grant, allocation and fund that could bring money to your school, and apply for all of them.

Turn the school around into a thrusting, kick-ass, GCSE bootcamp by recruiting a retired sergeant-major type as head teacher. Encourage exam success using electro-convulsive therapy, waterboarding, free pizza etc.

6. Start a viral campaign
It works for trainers, so why not for houses? Start your own marketing mission, and get as many people as possible involved.

Email the particulars of your property to everyone in your contacts book and ask them to forward them on to their friends. Point out all the great things about your home - the area, the sunny garden, the great commuter links, the fabulous restaurants and pubs. Say: "I'm sure that you'll know someone - you have so many friends."

Modesty isn't going to get you anywhere, so make sure that the photographs do your home more than justice, attach any consents granted and big it up, up, up. Your bog-standard semi needs an upgrade to a "Gorgeous, semi-detached, Edwardian home with consent to extend to a marvellous five-bedroom residence in one of the town's prime streets, within the catchment area of St Cuthberts, currently third in the county's league table." Lay it on with a trowel.

Carpet-bomb any local businesses that offer advertising space, see if you can get a mention in the parish newsletter, and list your home on as many websites as possible.

7. And if all else fails…
Make sure that your home is worth £5 million or more. This is the one category of property that seems to be staring down talk of recession.

Otherwise, hold tight. It could be a bumpy ride.