Maybe new-home tours should start with the garage.

The way this frequently overlooked home space has evolved in recent years shows how a practical, every-day area can quietly emerge as a powerful home-selling differentiator.

Consider, for example, the rise of the tandem garage.

The beguiling format presents the garage space to park a pair of cars in a stacked format, most commonly in a three-car, one-by-two configuration.

Reimagined Space

Surprise! Homeowners have embraced the extra deep garage space in ways few residential architects and home designers ever imagined.

Just ask Jim Suth.

Suth heads up sales and marketing for LandSea Homes’ northern California division. The veteran residential housing professional has watched with growing interest how home buyers in his market respond to the next-gen garage. One LandSea Home design has captured the imagination of homebuyers.

Next-Gen Advantage

“The third car tandem actually opens at the rear with another overhead door to the backyard. The tandem space actually becomes an indoor/outdoor entertainment space,” Suth explains. “It’s what I call the new garage opportunity.”

But that’s not all. This new-found flex space has also morphed into a mini TV room, a play area for children, or, as you might expect, a ready-made man cave/fix-it shop right next to the parked vehicles.

“People are starting to think, ‘Gosh, I don’t have to give up a bedroom or some other space.’ They can get more use out of the space they’ve invested in,” says Suth.

Home Delivery Peace of Mind

“Garage 2.0” is paying off in other ways too. The growing reliance on home delivery of products shines another light on the garage as the home’s safe and secure drop-off portal.

There was a time when dropping off a package at the front door made sense. Maybe not so much today. “Whether the purchase is as simple as a pair of socks or as expensive as a big screen TV, providing remote access to the garage with a call or notification to a smartphone allows you to monitor the garage door and watch the delivery by cam. No front-door worries. The garage becomes your separate security space.”

Sales Differentiator

This level of remote, on-demand access is key. As the garage plays an increasingly central role in home life, technology that supports it gains new awareness. This is especially true for the upper-middle market LandSea targets. “We tout the brand names we partner with. We don’t ask who the new number two is in a category. Or, ask who is the cheaper, off-market brand,” Suth says.

Suth cites their relationships with brand leaders in major appliances, HVAC systems, and tankless water heaters as examples. For garages?

myQ Advantage

“LiftMaster has been a partner of ours for a long time,” he reports. “They have it figured out. Their myQ smartphone app is a great example of that.” myQ is a mobile app that works with Apple or Android devices to remotely control garage door opening and closing.

For Suth, myQ is something else as well: “When I leave the home, I don’t worry ‘Dang, did I close the garage?’ myQ graphically shows me.”

Learn how to differentiate your homes with respected garage door technology at LiftMaster.com