What a Garage Adds to Home Values in Denver

You’re living the American dream: You’ve got a home of your own with a nice-sized yard, a lush lawn, lots of shrubbery, maybe even the classic picket fence — and you’ve got a garage. It’s convenient, it protects you and your car when the weather is bad, and it’s valuable.

Most houses sold in the U.S. (85.2%, as a matter of fact) have garages, and they increase a home’s value by 12%, according to new research from Redfin. The real estate brokerage says houses with garages tend to sell for $23,211 more than houses that don’t have them.

That’s the national average. There may be a higher or a lower premium in Denver, so read on to find out how much value is parked in the typical garage locally.

The ‘garage premium’ in Denver

Garages add the most to home values in the Midwest — up to 38% — and the reason is obvious. They’re a huge plus during frigid, snowy winters. In places with warm weather year-round, a garage is more of a take-it-or-leave-it item, so if you have one and you live in that type of climate your house might sell for as little as 2% extra when the time comes.

Having said that, here’s the story in Denver: Redfin says 92% of houses sold locally last year had a garage, and that feature brought in an average $35,411 for home sellers.

Looking at it another way, homes with garages in Denver typically sell for 11% more than homes without.

Do you consider a garage a must-have? Lots of us do, says Redfin agent Andrew Vallejo in Austin, Texas.

“Homebuyers don’t necessarily expect to get a garage if they’re buying a home inside the city, though many people do value them, particularly in the suburbs where a two-car garage is the norm,” he says.

Should you add a garage?

If your home doesn’t have a garage and you’ve been thinking of adding one, the garage premium might be a clincher. Particularly since the cost of your new garage may be lower than you think.

The national average is about $26,500, according to HomeAdvisor, but there are a lot of variables that can reduce the price.

Building an attached garage costs less than a detached one, and single-car is cheaper than a two-car garage.

For a single-car attached garage, you can expect to pay between $7,500 and $10,000. The cost of a detached garage of the same size ranges from $9,000 to $12,000, but that’s without electricity, plumbing, and heating and cooling. Adding that stuff increases the price to around $14,000, HomeAdvisor says.

A two-car garage can cost more than double what you’d pay for a one-car.

Depending on the amount of equity you have in your house, you could tap some of it to finance your new garage, using a home equity loan or a home equity line of credit (HELOC).

Here’s one way to think of the garage question, especially if you paid a lot for your car (too much?) and it’s your “baby”: You have a nice home. Doesn’t your car deserve one, too?