One in three people have already converted their garage or are planning to do so, with space at a premium in properties.

A survey from Co-operative Insurance found the most common alternative use for a garage is storage, although many are considering converting them into offices, workshops or even an extra bedroom.

When Strutt & Parker conducted their own Housing Futures survey last year, the results also showed that garages were very popular. Of the people that responded who were planning to move house over the next five years, a garage was the second highest item desired in a primary home, with a shed or outbuildings coming in at third. Ironically, private parking was the first most desired item, showing that many people see this as separate to their garage.

Expanding home

Recent figures from Rightmove show that the amount of new homes coming on to the market has hit record low levels in recent years.

This is making it harder for people to move into somewhere larger and more suited to their needs. The Co-op suggests this is the reason why people are looking to expand their current home by converting their garages.

People are looking more to what they currently have and how they can adapt it to suit their needs, instead of buying a larger home.

Converting

The main reason for converting was to create either an office or workshop. However, expanding the kitchen, adding a new bedroom or making the garden larger were also popular reasons.

And while garages in London might sell for tens of thousands of pounds, the majority (60%) of those who have converted their garage believe they have added value to the property by doing so.

However, figures from the Nationwide say that while adding an extra bedroom to your house can increase your home’s value by nearly 10.8%, adding a single garage boosts the value by 11.1% and a double garage by 20.4%.

Security

For those not converting, the main reason found for keeping the garage was for extra storage.  Two-fifths said that they never parked their car in the garage because it is already full.

The survey found that 7 in 10 people use it to store painting and decorating items with 67% storing tools and 38% using it for bikes.

This means that garages often contain valuable goods, which the Co-op has estimated are worth around £1,400. Despite this, 13% said that their garage was not as secure as it could be.