Car Spaces Add Value to Homes on Salubrious Suburbs

There’s no such thing as a free lunch and when it comes to buying a house, there’s no such thing as free off-street parking. But what is the premium price buyers are prepared to pay for extra car spaces?

In Sydney’s wealthy eastern suburbs, real estate agents reckon the price difference between a house with one garage and a similar style house with four garages could be as much as $600,000 to $700,000.

“With the expensive houses most people have four kids; if you have a four-car garage it makes a difference,” says veteran Sydney agent Bill Bridges of Ballard Property. “A good parking spot in the eastern suburbs is worth $250,000; in Bondi, a good parking spot with undercover parking will sell for up to $300,000.”

In Brisbane, property entrepreneur Peter O’Mara estimates there’s a difference of up to 11 per cent in the value of an apartment with no car space and one with a double car space.

John Johnston of Johnston Dixon Quality Property says at the top-end car accommodation is important. “Many potential purchasers in Brisbane don’t proceed because the buyer requires more car accommodation,” Johnston says. “The decision to buy a house is either yes or no based on the number of undercover or lockup car parks the house features.”

Johnston adds that with top-end apartments garages are very important because the buyers may sport a car collection.

A four-car garage will appeal to buyers of 77 Longman Terrace, Chelmer, which Johnston Dixon is marketing. The five-bedroom Brisbane riverfront property has undergone a significant renovation and the vendors are asking more than $3 million.

In Melbourne, agent Kim McQueen of RT Edgar Toorak says many beautiful new houses in South Yarra and Toorak have four or five-car garages.

“With the very high-end homes you would expect that,” McQueen says. “Usually people at that level have more than two cars, sometimes they collect cars, or they have teenage children who all have cars. When you buy these beautiful homes around South Yarra it is expected at that top end.”

McQueen is selling 38 Balmerino Avenue, Toorak, with an asking price of $7.25m. The four-bedroom family home with multiple living areas has a four-car garage. He expects the property to appeal to buyers given the size of the garage, which spans nearly 130sq m.

In the US an analysis based on median listing prices per square foot by realtor.com looked at single-family homes listed between January 1 and October 31 to ascertain how much more home sellers were asking per parking spot.

While prices rise with each added space, as may be expected, the jumps are greater at a couple of surprise points. The first sharp rise is for three-car homes, which were priced 11.45 per cent higher than those with a just a single spot.

Most homes have two-car garages — they made up almost 64 per cent of listings — but three-car homes tend to be larger and higher-end, bumping up prices.

Homes with a seven-car capacity asked a striking 31.42 per cent more than one-car homes. That may be because homes with four or five parking spots — a two-car garage with a wide driveway, for example — may be large but not necessarily luxury. Properties that can fit seven cars or more are likely to be ultra-luxury homes with feature-filled garages.

Original article sourced from The Australian

Company News

This month we would like to acknowledge some great efforts achieved by the team at Ballard Property.

We would firstly like to congratulate James Ball on being featured in the REB Young Guns FY 2014/2015. The REB Young Guns ranked the top 50 agents in Australia under 30 years of age. Following only one year of experience in the real estate industry, James placed 26th in the rankings.

We would also like to congratulate William Manning for recently breaking the Paddington price record, with the sale of 72 Windsor Street, Paddington. William not only holds this Paddington record, but also records in Woollahra, Lavender Bay and Raleigh Park Estate.

These are two great achievements, congratulations James and William.

Local News

Coogee Family Fun Day

This family fun day is not one to be missed, held on Saturday 5th December, with over 80 stalls, rides and live performances. A favourite for locals and visitors, the event is held at Goldstein Reserve, Coogee Beach.