Showerthought: I saw a big change in my building's value after fixing the parking lot.

The asphalt in my small office plaza in Dayton was cracked and full of potholes for years. I got it fully repaved and re-striped this spring, which cost about $28,000. Within six months, two vacant units leased up, and a broker told me the curb appeal added roughly 10% to the property's market value. Has anyone else seen a good return from a basic fix like this?

4 comments

4 Comments

beth_stone2mo ago

Guess we should all just pave our way to riches. (Honestly, I'm just jealous my landlord won't even fix the leaky faucet.)

ryan_kim6318d ago

Honestly I used to be in the "paving doesn't move the needle" camp too, but seeing that 10% jump in a market like Dayton kind of shook that. Maybe it's not the asphalt alone, but the signal it sends about a landlord actually caring enough to invest, which can shift how brokers and tenants view the whole building. Still, your mileage may vary - I'd want to see if the same units were sitting empty nearby without new parking before I'd bet the farm on it.

evah4018d ago

Ryan, I get where you're coming from, but I really think paving is just a bandaid and not the real driver. In a market like Dayton, my guess is that 10% jump was more about timing or maybe the broker hyping their own property to get you interested. If a building has way better curb appeal but the leases are still the same price and the space inside is old, tenants aren't going to suddenly pay more. Ive seen landlords throw money at parking lots and landscaping while ignoring actual unit upgrades and it never moved the needle for long. People rent based on what the space can do for them, not the blacktop they drive over. Paving might help if a building was literally falling apart before, but it's not some magic signal.

grayw322mo ago

Dayton's a tough market for small offices, right? Ten percent seems like a huge jump just from some new asphalt. Are you sure the broker wasn't just telling you what you wanted to hear? Maybe those units were going to lease up anyway as the economy shifted.