Parking has emerged as one of the most important considerations for
homebuyers and buy-to-let investors alike, says Best Gapp estate agent in Mayfair. If there’s nowhere
to park (or available parking is overpriced), then chances are the deal won’t
seem quite as appealing.
And with car sales accelerating, the value of a parking space in urban
areas is only likely to increase. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says car sales in January 2016 rose 2.9% year-on-year to 169,678 units. Private demand for new cars in January was up 8.2% to its highest level in 12 years at 73,061 units, while business purchases rose 5% to 6716 vehicles.
However, the developers of new-build housing schemes will often only offer parking spaces with larger two or three-bed units.
Not only that, if you don’t buy a parking space and you – or a tenant
- wants to park outside the development,
most councils won’t provide a parking permit.
This is because Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act
allows developers to build flats but not give residents the right to a parking
permit within the borough.
Parking spaces are increasingly becoming like the veritable needle in
the haystack and more and more homeowners are choosing to convert excess space
in their property into valuable parking facilities.
Adding a single parking space to your home could see your property’s
value soar by 5%. So on a property valued at £592,596 – the average price of a
semi-detached house in London, according to West End estate agent LDG - that would represent an increase
of just under £30,000.
ProSkips,
a skip hire broker that has supplied many homeowners who have converted their
front gardens into private parking spaces, argues that the benefits of having
an off-road space for a vehicle.
In urban areas, the value of a parking space is higher – especially if
you have room for a garage.
However, around 90% of all garages in the UK don’t contain a car.
Assuming you still have access to off-road parking, such as the
driveway leading to the garage, converting a garage into a bedroom can increase
the property value significantly.
Adding value with this approach is often a matter of good planning.
North London-based letting specialist Assetgrove says if your garage is attached to the house,
you can spend between £30,000 and £40,000 converting it into another room,
which will give you enough in the budget to ensure that it no longer looks like
a converted garage.
One way to be certain of adding value is by converting it into another
bedroom and bathroom - which will add up to £50,000 to the value of a London
home. However, if that doesn’t suit the layout of your property, you can add a
study or a playroom, which can add £30,000 to its value.
But the value of the asset as a parking space could be worth more. In
2015, for example, Westminster City Council made £46.4m
in profits from parking tickets and fines.
Even if you do not own a vehicle, renting out your
off-road parking space could net a property owner more than £5000 per year, and
parking spaces alone in some of the best parts of London fetch six-figure sums.
