Would a new driveway increase the value of my home?

[grahambda]

We are potentially looking at putting in a new driveway, do you think we would recover the cost when we come to sell the house or would it just make it more “appealing” but not impact the sale value?

[valuemkt]

Unless your driveway has the smoothness and appearance of a motocross course and has cracked concrete throughout, you will not recover your costs.. IMO after flipping numerous houses. If it is dirty or stained, a heavy bleached power washing might do the trick

[retiredguy123]

What do you mean by putting in a new driveway? If you are just talking about covering a concrete slab with paint or pavers, it probably won't increase the value at all. To me, it would decrease the value because I wouldn't want to do the maintenance on it.

[tophcfa]

Might help a little, but most likely wouldn't get your full investment back.

[Chatbrat]

If you're the only one between to "normal" driveways--no value

[vintageogauge]

I had 2 neighbors that put pavers on their driveways and they made a huge difference in the selling price when both of them put them up for sale, both sold the same day they were listed. They do attract buyers. It costs about $800 every 4 years to clean and re-seal pavers, not all that bad.

[villagetinker]

IMHO, if you do a very neutral finish on the "new" driveway, you may get some of your investment back, if you do a highly personalized finish, it may be a detriment to the sale. When we had our driveway painted, the contractor strongly suggested that we NOT have the palm tree painted in, we took his suggestion and get a lot of compliments.

[Debfrommaine]

IMHO, if you do a very neutral finish on the "new" driveway, you may get some of your investment back, if you do a highly personalized finish, it may be a detriment to the sale. When we had our driveway painted, the contractor strongly suggested that we NOT have the palm tree painted in, we took his suggestion and get a lot of compliments.
Would putting epoxy finish on the garage floor increase sales price?

[vintageogauge]

IMHO, if you do a very neutral finish on the "new" driveway, you may get some of your investment back, if you do a highly personalized finish, it may be a detriment to the sale. When we had our driveway painted, the contractor strongly suggested that we NOT have the palm tree painted in, we took his suggestion and get a lot of compliments.

You probably got a lot of thank you's for not having a painted palm tree LOL.

[VApeople]

Would putting epoxy finish on the garage floor increase sales price?

In my opinion, probably not.

We had epoxy put on our garage floor when we moved in four years ago and we love it. It is very easy to clean and it looks very nice.

[coffeebean]

I had 2 neighbors that put pavers on their driveways and they made a huge difference in the selling price when both of them put them up for sale, both sold the same day they were listed. They do attract buyers. It costs about $800 every 4 years to clean and re-seal pavers, not all that bad.

Our driveway was terribly discolored because, from what we were told by those who are in the business, the cement was rained on right after it was poured. After looking at that discolored driveway for a few years, we had pavers installed. What a huge difference in the curb appeal of our home now. We don't mind the maintenance. It is worth every penny to us.

[coffeebean]

We had Matt Alums install Chattahoochee River Rock inside our garage. It was costly but looks absolutely gorgeous. It never looks dirty, leaves no tire marks and honestly.....when I sweepup a pile of debris, I can not find it if I walk away to get the dust pan and brush. I must put the broom in front of the pile of debris in order to find the debris. It really amazes me how this garage floor is the exact opposite of the garage floor I had in my NJ home.

I'm getting the impression from what I'm reading on this thread that doing improvements like this really does not add value to the home. What I do believe is the home will sell faster with these kinds of improvements. I would think installing pavers on our exterior lanai and pavers on the driveway would add some value to the home but what do I know?

[rjn5656]

Doesn't the river rock fade if in direct sun?

[coffeebean]

Doesn't the river rock fade if in direct sun?

Yes, River Rock will fade in direct sun. That is why River Rock needs to be sealed just like other applications which are in direct sun. Our River Rock is inside the garage. Matt said we will never need to seal it because it does not get direct sun. Win win for us.

[Retiring]

We are potentially looking at putting in a new driveway, do you think we would recover the cost when we come to sell the house or would it just make it more “appealing” but not impact the sale value?

It’s not about increasing value, it’s about not losing value. A new driveway might help sell the house at FMV but a poor driveway will definitely drive the final price downward. If the house is worth X, a new driveway will get you X but not necessarily X+. However, a driveway in poor condition will definitely get you X-. IMO.

[Toymeister]

I think there is a distinct difference between an epoxy coated drive and a paver drive.

I have both. I look at the paver as a negative since I have to maintain it. Granted it's only 275.00 in materials and time. Sure, it is easy enough to do but it is more work than epoxy requires.

[Graspher]

IMHO, if you do a very neutral finish on the "new" driveway, you may get some of your investment back, if you do a highly personalized finish, it may be a detriment to the sale. When we had our driveway painted, the contractor strongly suggested that we NOT have the palm tree painted in, we took his suggestion and get a lot of compliments.

Can’t wait to have a yellow Tweety Bird painted on the driveway of our soon to close pre-loved home....

[stadry]

au contraire, 'River Rock' does NOT fade in sunlight - direct or not,,, its the non-uv-resistant water-based epoxy mixed w/the rock that fades,,, graded river aggregate ( river rock ) is as God made it - color-fast,,, does the resurfacing material need to be sealed ? yes but only annually,,, good scrubbing w/pressure wshr ( turbo nozzle's best ) & dawn dish detergent followed by 2 rinses - allow to dry & seal,,, 1 can use solvent based sealer over chattahoochee w/good results even tho the epoxy is generally wtr-based
generally speaking, pavers won't require any maint other than perhaps washing,,, sealing's not a rqmnt,,, can't imagine what maint pavers need,,, re-level due to parking on the same spot causing some depression ? inadequate paver base material ? weak materials ? insufficient depth of base materials ?

we still install driveways up in atl awaiting our closing & move to tv in may,,, if all in your 'hood have decorated driveways 'cept you, there's a diminished street/curb cred/value/appeal,,, if yours is the only decorated 1, you get some props + a positive bump in comps,,, if yours is a mess - you can figure out the rest,,, we install regular driveways, pavers, decorative concrete, & epoxy flooring

iirc, your best remodeling $ return's still kitchen & bath

[juscause]

It's a driveway. No one is going to pay more for an enhanced driveway. Spend the money only if YOU love it.

[TandHSTAR@AOL.com]

Unless you plan on selling your home in the near future make the improvement to make you happy. By now I think the message is no youbwill not get your money back but the sale will be quicker because of the curb appeal. So do it because you want to make your place nicer looking for yourself.

[coffeebean]

It's a driveway. No one is going to pay more for an enhanced driveway. Spend the money only if YOU love it.

Agree, it is just a driveway. But.....our driveway is connected to the walkway which leads to the front entry of our home. I believe all of The Villages homes' driveways are set up this way. Pavers on our plain old discolored concrete has made our home look absolutely gorgeous. I can't help but gaze at the curb appeal our home has now. Yes, it's just a driveway but now it is a beautiful one.

[TheWarriors]

Also depends on the value of your home, those in the $200k range may not see much value it it while those in the $500k range and up expect it. That fact that you’ve already though you needed to do something may have already answered your question. And since you don’t see commenters homes here, be careful who you take advice from, it may be someone you would never want to living next door

[Chatbrat]

A house is like a blank canvas, paint any (finish) way you like, but like many great artists you'll never know its value while you're alive

We spent a lot on shades , got rid of the builders blinds--the latest was putting motorized shades in the lanai

[willbush]

I had 2 neighbors that put pavers on their driveways and they made a huge difference in the selling price when both of them put them up for sale, both sold the same day they were listed. They do attract buyers. It costs about $800 every 4 years to clean and re-seal pavers, not all that bad.
We had two homes sell in one day and both had regular concrete driveways;homes don't sell just because of the driveway.

[mattlongrealtor]

To the right buyer it could make a difference depending on the type driveway you replace the old one with and if the old driveway is in need of repair. Check to see what the covenant in your area will allow and the costs involved. Your Realtor should be able to weigh all these options with you.

In general, terms a driveway isn't typically "the selling point", it's usually a feature of the curb appeal unless there is a utility it provides that is not abundantly available. A lot of times these sort of upgrades don't reel in and higher valuations, but it could help it get more attention or sell faster.

It's worth getting quotes, because it gives you avenues to options that may not otherwise be present.

Again, with the numbers it's something to talk over with your Realtor, I have customer that love paver driveways and others that don't care.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

Actually, its virtually impossible to disaggregate the increase in the final price of your house with a new driveway from the house without the new driveway. The way I look at the sale after buying and selling a few, and doing data analysis on pricing in a professional setting, just like Zillow uses factors on lot size, sq footage, and the documented characteristics, each house has unique factors, such as view, what the buyer wants vs what the seller has, etc, and the other factors, like how the house is staged, etc. ie, you can't tell me what the price, not cost, of the garage or any other part of the house was in the P&S when you bought or sold a previously owned home.

Basically every house the basic rooms, garage, lanai etc, to get to the estimated Zillow fair market value. However, at the time of sale, what appeals to the buyer is not the basics, but the uniqueness of the house for which he/she will pay. not everyone puts the same value on the amount of grass, the view, the lanai size versus the garage size versus any other extra which make the house unique from the same prebuilt standard model. So is there someone who will pay up for the new driveway? yes, will he/she know what part of the price they paid for the house is the new driveway? :ohdear:

Finally, too many people over financialize a decision. If you paid for college for your kids, what was your return? I paid for most of my two, and I refuse to financialize those decisions because I could afford it and wouldn't have them start off with a large debt load, regardless of ROI, my choice, my values. If you want a nice driveway, get it. If you will feel better about your house, get it. Just don't get it because you are trying to do an ROI on return on the future sale of the house.

sportsguy

[Velvet]

Like with anything you are trying to sell the more you customize something the fewer people will be interested in buying it. But for the right person, it will be worth it.

If your driveway is in need of repair as compared to your neighbors it will bring your house down by about how much it would cost the new owner to fix it.

If you have a premium home, I saw one really run down with horrible painted rooms, the house sold for 2/3 of its worth in a top area of TV. The new owner brought it up to (or even above) the rest of the neighbors and I think they never plan to sell it.

[dadspet]

We are potentially looking at putting in a new driveway, do you think we would recover the cost when we come to sell the house or would it just make it more “appealing” but not impact the sale value?

I got a feeling on a list of things people consider in buying a house, a driveway is near the bottom of that list. I can tell you when we were looking for a new house we came across a few homes where the first thing that turned us off was the driveway coating. Now if the driveway is in bad condition (large cracks etc) or has a surface that could turn someone off it could be worth redoing it.

[BobnBev]

Can’t wait to have a yellow Tweety Bird painted on the driveway of our soon to close pre-loved home....

As long as it's not a large white cross, you should be OK.:clap2:

[rjm1cc]

For most and maybe all improvements I do not think you get all of your money back.
Why not price the house and include in the price the cost of doing the driveway. If the driveway becomes a problem offer to reduce the price of the home so the buyer can use the savings to do the driveway.
I assume the driveway is not an "eye" sore.

[capecodkev]

From an appraisal stand point, Fannie Mae does not give any value to a paved driveway vs just a gravel driveway. Just like landscaping, it may help sell your house but it is very difficult to give a value to it.