A garage addition makes especially good economic sense in the Pacific region of the country, where home owners can expect to get back almost 66% of the cost of a midrange project, although garage construction costs are about 20% more than the national average. Returns tend to be lowest in the country’s midsection. In Des Moines, for example, the same garage recoups less than half its cost.

As a general rule, you’re likely to recover a higher percentage of your investment if you build a relatively basic garage—one with open walls, an unfinished concrete floor, and shelves for storage—rather than one with interior drywall and trim, an epoxy floor coating, and designer storage solutions. Such an upscale project runs a national average of $86,347 and returns around $45,000, or about 52%, of its cost at resale.

But there are financial considerations to adding a garage that go beyond resale value. Protected from the elements, your vehicles will stay in top shape, which could make them more valuable when you sell them. If you include workshop space, you’ll be able to do many home repairs yourself, saving on the cost of pros. And if you outfit the garage so that it’s easy to access stored items, you can save leftover materials, reducing the cost of future projects.

National average cost, 26 x 26 ft. midrange garage addition:

Job cost: $57,824
Resale value: $33,089
Cost recoup: 57.2%

National average cost, 26 x 26 ft. upscale garage addition:

Job cost: $86,347
Resale value: $44,987
Cost recoup: 52.1%

Regional info:

New England

Middle Atlantic

South Atlantic

East South Central

West South Central

East North Central

West North Central

Mountain

Pacific