Building a garage can increase the value of your home by up to 15 per cent. According to estate agents, they are the part of a home that add the most value.

One reason for this is quite simple, the latest figures from the British Crime Survey reveal that in 2001 there were 11,792 vehicles stolen and 655,127 incidents of thefts from vehicles.

By adding a garage to your property, you can avoid becoming a victim of car theft andgive yourself peace of mind, according to Compton Garages.

The garage will also lower car and contents insurance and boost the value of your home.

Another reason for adding a garage to your property could be that it may simply not be possible to park in the street near your home.

Westminster council, for example, issues 39,000 residents' parking permits annually but has only 31,000 spaces. The council has to rely on some people to park outside their local area or on meters.

And although congestion charges may reduce city centre traffic, drivers often park in suburbs, which only adds to the problem.

As a result, garages or hard-standing converted from front gardens now fetch top dollar.

Garages in central London add £50,000 to £70,000 to a flat or house price but many owners now sell them separately.

For example, Jackson Stops and Staff is marketing a single vehicle lock-up in Notting Hill for £100,000. In Devon one is on sale for £14,500 and in Nottingham for £13,000.

If you want to build a garage on your property, remember it takes up to 30 per cent of the front elevation of the house so it should be compatible in shape and material.

Future-proof the garage by designing deeper foundations than necessary. This way you could build an extra room over the car space.

If the garage is already in place and you want an extension, it will probably be easier to knock it down and build from new than to underpin.

You will probably need planning permission if more than half the land around your house will be covered by the garageif the garage is to be more than three metres high and/or has a capacity of more than 10 cubic metres, which is the size it will need to be to take a car.

The simpler option is to buy a garage kit. Compton Garages, one of Britain's largest garage kit makers builds them from as little as £2,000. Building a double garage from scratch could set you back £25,000.

It may seem like a lot to pay, but it is a sound investment if it could add up to £50,000 to your home.

Research from the Nationwide building society also adds that a garage for a single car adds 6 per cent to the value of an average home, but if you build a double garage it will add 15 per cent.

For more information on garage kits, call Compton Garages on 01295 770291.

For building advice visit the websites buildadvice.com or nationwide.co.uk