A new study has revealed Warrington is the UK’s most affordable town for homes with off-street parking which can add up to 10% to the value of your property.
With this in mind, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts have created an off-street parking index to reveal which UK towns and cities have the most affordable houses with off-road parking.
As off-street parking can add value to a property, this means houses with the feature tend to be more expensive and in demand. In fact, 84% of home buyers state they wouldn’t buy a house without a driveway, according to Porcelain Superstore.
So to avoid the hassle of tedious searching, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts looked into the areas within the UK are the best places to live if off-street parking is a feature you desire!
To find the most affordable homes with off-street parking, four factors were analysed for the UK’s 40 most populated towns and cities:
Number of houses for sale in the city
The percentage of houses for sale with a garage
The percentage of houses for sale with a driveway
Average price of a house with off-street parking
Combined and weighted, they produce an overall ‘off-street parking score’ out of 100.
The research found Warrington has the most affordable homes with off-street parking, scoring 89 out of 100 on the index. This large town is the best place to find your dream home where you can park your vehicle safely in a driveway or garage. The average house price in Warrington is £161,604 with off-street parking. Out of the 276 houses for sale, 46% come with a garage and 58% with a driveway. With a population of 165,456, you will need to act fast to secure your dream home with off-street parking in this town.
Coming in second place was Dudley, with an impressive score of 88 out of 100. Out of the homes for sale in this area, 50% come with garages and 60% with driveways. If that wasn’t captivating enough, Dudley also offers the average house price at only £213,000 with off-street parking.
Mansfield rounds off the top three, with an off-street parking score of 87 out of 100. With the average house price being £268,189, the most expensive out of the top 3, 57% come with a garage and 64% with a driveway.
How much value does off-street parking add to a property?
After looking into the sale price of properties with parking and speaking with landscape experts, Nationwide Vehicle Contracts can estimate that laying a driveway can add up to 10% to the value of a property.
Not only is it great to have somewhere to park your car safely off the road, but it can also make your driveway attractive – complementing your home and making it easier to sell.
Keith Hawes, Director of Nationwide Vehicle Contracts commented: “Buying a house can be a daunting task. Many search high and low to find the perfect home that comes with everything they desire, including a suitable place to park their vehicle. The problem is, it can be very expensive, difficult and time-consuming to find a house that also comes with off-street parking.
Given that the vast majority of cars spend most of the time stationary, off-street parking is a big desire when buying a house for safety, peace of mind and insurance costs.
“That said, parking as a whole is an issue in many places across the UK, especially in busy cities and with council restrictions increasing, so it’s only natural for home buyers to want off-street parking for their car”