Does a Finished Garage Add Value or Is It Just a ‘Nice to Have’?

Does your garage need a little bit of help, but you're wondering if going the extra mile will add real value to your home? The answer?

The truth is a clean, well-organized garage will most likely impress buyers enough that you shouldn’t expect to need to do a big remodel. However, what you need to do to your garage depends on a few factors.

Aside from painted drywall, finished garages also tend to have other bells and whistles, too, like resurfaced flooring and built-in storage. Once you start adding all of those extras onto the project, finishing your garage will cost you around $9,970 or more, depending on how many extras you add.

Ten grand is a whole lot of money to spend on a room primarily used for parking cars. So, the bottom line is: it’s probably not worth the money to finish the garage right before you sell if you are expecting to get your money back.

Most home sellers just need a little time and elbow grease spent on cleaning and organizing the garage. The money allocated for finishing the garage is much better off invested into home improvement projects with a high ROI.

That being said, there are some cases where a finished garage is a must-have, say if you’re selling a million-dollar luxury home, or you live in an area where all of your neighbors have finished garage. As your agent, I will be able to tell you for sure if a finished garage will increase a home’s value in your neighborhood based on my experience with buyer trends and popular home renovations for your area and price point.

For example, if your house already has a finished garage in an area where they aren’t expected or valued, it can still be a valuable asset. A finished garage is also a bonus for buyers that’s worth mentioning in the marketing of your home. Extras like that may just be the tipping point needed to bring buyers in to see your house instead of your competition.

Wondering if you should finish your garage before you sell or put that extra cash towards other repairs and updates ? Give me a call today!