For most would-be homebuyers, buying a house is a gauntlet of difficult decisions and trade-offs. Do you buy the house with the nice yard but not so great bathroom, or the one closer to the school? One common decision buyers face is whether to choose a home without a garage.
How Many Homes Have Garages?
On the outside looking in, it might seem like every good house has a garage, and choosing a house without one is a huge mistake that will follow you throughout your home’s ownership. A recent report from the National Association of Home Builders found that 72% of prospective home buyers prefer a home with a garage, with the strongest preference being for a two-car garage.
But the reality is that a garage, especially an attached garage, is a relatively newer trend in housing. The U.S. Census Bureau tracks parking facilities for new home construction, and found that in 2022, 98% of new construction homes had at least one-car garages, but in 1991, it was only 87%, and zero of those were three-car garages.
Is No Garage a Deal Breaker?
If you’re worried that buying the house of your dreams sans garage will mean you’ll have trouble selling it again, it might be good to consider the type of house you’re buying. Older homes are simply built differently, and people who are into them have different expectations than they might for a new construction home.
“There are plenty of midcentury moderns that have carports instead of garages and those buyers aren’t going to be turned off by a carport if the design and architecture is great,” says Victor Currie, real estate agent at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Pasadena, California.
Depending on the neighborhood, it might even be a bit of a liability to buy a home with a garage if it’s the only one of its kind.
“I see an effect in communities that are older where someone comes in and builds a newer home on a vacant lot,” says Kristen D. Conti, broker-owner at Peacock Premier Properties in Englewood, Florida.
“Because the home is newer, buyers will opt to build a garage. If the rest of the neighborhood does not have garages and someone chooses to build with a garage, they need to realize they are overbuilding for the neighborhood,” she adds.
Ultimately, whether or not your future home needs a garage for reselling it later depends on your neighborhood and what kind of expectations that people have about it. You should ask your real estate agent’s opinion on this before signing a contract.
“Home sellers of a home without a garage should be accurately informed how their home will perform in the market,” says Chuck Vander Stelt, real estate agent with Listing Leaders and operator of real estate website Quadwalls.com in Valparaiso, Indiana.
“If most homes do have a garage, the home without one might take longer to sell and will very likely sell for less when all other things are equal between the seller’s home and another with a garage,” he says.
[Buying a Fixer-Upper: Everything You Need to Know]
What Does it Cost to Add a Garage?
If you’ve fallen in love with a house that doesn’t have a garage or you’ve decided that your money is better spent on housing sans garage, you might still be thinking about adding a garage later. For a lot of homebuyers, this is a potential solution to having an affordable mortgage and a garage they can get a lot of use out of throughout their ownership.
Adding a detached garage can be a great way to add indoor parking space, especially if your area will allow you to also include a small rental unit at the same time.
“When people do add on a detached garage to a home that did not have one in the past, it will increase the value,” says Conti. “I often encourage customers to add a studio or one-bedroom unit attached to the detached garage so they can pay for it with rental income. Or use it for a home office or in-law suite.”
According to HomeAdvisor, a detached garage can cost anywhere from $19,200 to $45,000 to build, depending on the size and other factors, but you’ll also need to check with your local planning and zoning, any homeowners associations you may be under and a professional garage builder or architect to ensure adding a garage is feasible. The cost to build a detached garage will be 10% to 15% more than the cost to build an attached garage, HomeAdvisor says.
The national average to build a garage is around $28,326, or between $16,424 and $40,287 for the typical range. For a single-car garage, you can expect to pay around $10,000, while a large RV garage with electric and HVAC could set you back moret than $100,000, according to HomeAdvisor.
Currie explains that while the lack of a garage in today’s market won’t likely get you any concessions from the seller, especially if there are multiple offers on the table, you can find out what a garage would cost before you close on your home. “The buyer needs to ask themselves, ‘What is it worth to me to take on that extra expense later?’ Remember that you can get contractor quotes for adding a garage during the inspection periods.”
You will likely find that the cost of adding a garage is more than the value that the garage brings to your home, but if you consider how much utility it adds, you may find it’s worth far more than what you’ll be paying. Although the value a garage adds will vary based on your market, they can increase your property value significantly when done properly.
“In the Northwest Indiana market, the difference between having a garage versus not having a garage is about $20,000 to $30,000,” says Vander Stelt.
[READ: 8 Things You Shouldn’t Keep in Your Basement or Garage]
Choosing a House Without a Garage
Ultimately, the home you choose is a deeply personal decision, and one you shouldn’t make based solely on whether or not some imaginary buyer will like it at some distant date down the road. It’s your home, it’s your refuge and it’s the place where you should feel at ease when you’re shaking off the dust of the day.
“Buying a home is all about trade-offs,” says Currie. “Formal dining room versus great room. Pool or no pool. Suburb versus city. It’s the same with garages, or lack thereof. It all comes down to the individual buyer.”
So, really, don’t worry, you’ll be able to find that dream buyer when the time comes, no matter what choice you make. After all, people owned your home before you bought it, and you found your way there.
“Not having a garage is never an issue if the home is priced appropriately,” says Vander Stelt. “Every home sells in every type of market for a price. There’s always a market, always.”
More from U.S. News
Should You Buy a House With Cash?
When Will the Housing Market Crash?
Should You Use a Buyer’s Agent?
Is It OK to Buy a House Without a Garage? originally appeared on usnews.com
