How much can a rooftop deck increase the value of your home? This MarketWatch article from Daniel Goldstein gets to the bottom of the rising popularity of rooftop decks this year.
When it comes to improving your home’s value in 2016, homeowners (and property managers) are finding one way that’s going through the roof, literally.
Additions of rooftop decks have been accelerating for the past several years, said Pete Reeb, a principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, Calif. He said about 5% of projects he’s seen currently have rooftop deck plans, but said that number is likely to grow. Builders are finding great success in attracting buyers and beating the competition by offering thoughtfully designed and integrated rooftop decks in new home projects,” he said.
Roof decks work best in high-density areas where there isn’t a lot of usable outdoor space, and there’s actually something worth seeing from the deck, like a lake, or an ocean or a city skyline, and have been popping up in the Southwest, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, Southern California, and even the East Coast, said Reeb.
And it’s not just residential rooftop decks that are growing in popularity, commercial properties, apartments and hotels have been adding them as well, alongside features such as dog-walking parks, pools with waterfalls and even basketball courts.
For a homeowner to add one, the typical cost for a rooftop deck is $25,000 for a basic deck, and a more elaborate deck with an integrated grill, bar or kitchen has to be built in to the framing of the home as well as the foundation.
Adding a wood deck to a home in a real estate market like San Francisco, where it often can be enjoyed year-round, yielded a 147% return, meaning a nearly 50% profit on a $10,000 deck investment, according to an analysis of more than 30 popular home improvement projects published last year in Remodeling Magazine.
