If you are like most homeowners, chances are you want the greatest value for your home. This is likely true regardless if you want to sell your home or stay in it for the foreseeable future. We often get questions about whether or not a driveway impacts the value of a home. In almost all cases, your driveway offers tremendous value to your property and its resale potential.
The value of your driveway also depends on how well you maintain it over time. Depending on the material, there is a measurement of maintenance that needs to be adhered to in order to gain the most from your investment. You will be happy you’ve done so when sitting at the closing table.
The Impact of Your Driveway
Something to keep in mind is that your driveway not only improves your home value but also improves the value of your entire neighborhood. Given the cost of most home projects these days, a driveway is an affordable project. This when compared to things such as pool installs, interior remodels, and landscape design. Your driveway installation is also a quick project that you will see transform your property in days rather than weeks or months.
Let’s Talk Curb Appeal
There is nothing like driving up to a home on a nicely paved driveway. This is either true for asphalt or cement options. When a driveway is deteriorating, shows signs of buckling, cracking, or has significant dips or holes in the surface, it is an immediate red flag. These are the types of problems that home buyers get fearful of. It also just hurts the aesthetics of your home, sending the message that your home is not properly cared for. If you are putting your house on the market in the coming months or even years, a poorly laid driveway can result in lower offers on your home. Keep in mind, real estate professionals often talk about how home buyers won’t even put in an offer on a home that does not have a driveway.
Driveway Surface Options
You have choices when it comes to surface materials for your driveway. The two most popular options are asphalt and cement. Both are value-added options but cost significantly differently. The option you choose will depend on the budget you are working with and the value you wish to add to your home.
An asphalt driveway is one of the easiest materials to work with and offers the most bang for your buck. This material continues to prove itself as a solid option offering years of wear and tear. You can expect your asphalt driveway to last anywhere between 10 and 17 years. You will have to maintain this material every few years, with projects such as sealing or blacktopping.
If you are interested in a concrete driveway, you can expect this material to last for decades. Cement is a high-quality and durable option, requiring less maintenance than asphalt or pavers. However, concrete is more expensive and can cost anywhere between $6 to $10 per square foot. The value you get from cement driveways is realized over an extended period of time. This means you may consider doing a cement driveway at the beginning of a mortgage instead of at the end of one.
Material Factors
When choosing which material to use for your driveway, location is a consideration. Temperatures have an impact on building materials due to expansion and contraction. In general, asphalt can expand and contract far easier than concrete. In regions that get incredibly cold, you may see less wear and tear with an asphalt driveway instead of a cement one. Cement is more likely to crack with cold or swinging temperatures. Also, if you use deicing materials such as rock salt, asphalt tends to handle this well. In tests done on driveway materials, ice tends to melt faster on asphalt than it does cement or pavers.
The Burning Question
The question remains, how much value will an asphalt or cement driveway add to my property? As you can imagine, this will depend on your location, neighborhood, and size of property. On average, estimates across the country reveal that a paved driveway (asphalt or cement) can add anywhere between $5,000 and $7,000. That estimate increases as the square footage of your home increases.
Get A Free Quote
If you’re curious about how the value of a driveway can impact your specific home, we invite you to connect with us today. We offer free quotes and no obligations to help you determine if a driveway project is right for your property. We would love to help you and welcome a call or message to schedule that estimate.