Add $100,000+ value to your property with this tip- add a driveway
Adding off street parking to your inner to mid-city properties can increase the value of the home by hundreds of thousands, according to a renovation expert. This makes adding
In a consultation with one of her clients, Cherie Barber from Renovating for Profit claimed that off street parking was a necessity for selling properties in a metro area.
“Without a car space, you’re just limiting your market and you’ll see that affect your eventual selling price.”
In an example she gave, a property in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was estimated to be valued at $1.1 million, but with some tweaking of the front yard to make space for a vehicle, the value could potentially reach $1.3 million.
While many inner city properties don’t have the space for off-street parking, Cherie claims there are some options.
- While a swinging gate may be out of the question, you can install gates which run down the side of the property, and slide across the driveway entrance.
- To find out if your property is capable of having a driveway, check your gutter to see if there is a slope instead of a curb (a crossover). If there is one, that means there was once a driveway on your property.
- Try to avoid roller style garage doors. Cherie said many people find them ugly, and could deter buyers as a first impression of a property.
Reinforcing the value of car spaces, property developer Michael Yates specifically builds car parks as an investment in Melbourne’s CBD.
“The increased density in residential zones within a 10km radius of Melbourne?s CBD is now placing car parking at an absolute premium, pushing the values of these tiny spaces to record prices,” he said.
Mr Yates claims that some city car spaces have been sold for as much as $100,000-$120,000, with continuing strong demand.
“Car parks have followed a trend over the past thirty years and they seem to sit around certain values for a period of time,” Mr Yates said. “Every four or five years, people seem to suddenly realise their true values and they enjoy a sudden upsurge.”