Oh just put it in the garage

August 13, 2011

On average, a garage addition recoups about 60% of the investment, with the highest rates of return on a basic rather than an upscale job.  It’s been my experience that in our area because of the snowy winters – houses with garages have a much higher appeal to buyers.  I have several that won’t even look at a house without a garage.

A garage addition makes especially good economic sense in the south-central portion of the country, where home owners can expect to get back almost 66% of the cost of a midrange project, while spending about 13% less than the national average. Returns tend to be lowest in the country’s midsection. In Cleveland, for example, the same garage recoups less than half its cost.

As a general rule, you’re likely to recover a higher percentage of your investment if you build a relatively basic garage–one with open walls, an unfinished concrete floor, and shelves for storage–rather than one with interior drywall and trim, an epoxy floor coating, and designer storage solutions. Such an upscale project runs a national average of more than $90,000 and returns around $48,300, or about 53.6%, of its cost.

But there are financial considerations to adding a garage that go beyond resale value. Protected from the elements, your vehicles will stay in top shape, which could make them more valuable when you sell them. If you include workshop space, you’ll be able to do many home repairs yourself, saving on the cost of pros. And if you outfit the garage so that it’s easy to access stored items, you can save leftover materials, reducing the cost of future projects.

National average cost, 26 x 26 ft. midrange garage addition:

Job cost: $60,600
Resale value: $35,900
Cost recoup: 59.2%

National average cost, 26 x 26 ft. upscale garage addition:

Job cost: $90,100
Resale value: $48,300
Cost recoup: 53.6%