Many home builders believe that attached garages are

Many home builders believe that attached garages are necessary from a marketing standpoint, but actual buyer choices at two new traditional neighborhood developments (TNDs) where detached garages are optional call that assumption into question. The Churchill Group is a regional Washington, D.C., builder that is constructing houses in Kentlands, the Gaithersburg, Maryland TND where all garages are detached. The firm is now one of the first builders in King Farm, a more recent TND in Rockville, Maryland. Churchill is the only builder in King Farm offering detached garages. Residents have a choice of detached or attached — both garage types located in the rear of the home with alley access. There is no difference in price. Homes with detached garages, however, offer more backyard space with identical size lots and floor plans. Guess what? All 10 of Churchill’s first buyers preferred detached garages (although one was forced to take an attached garage because of an unusual lot configuration). One could argue that Maryland doesn’t get a lot of snow, making buyers less likely to demand attached garages, but that explanation doesn’t work outside of Chicago. In Centennial Crossing, a neotraditional development under construction for about a year in Vernon Hills, Illinois, homes with detached garages continue to outsell those with attached garages. Like King Farm, garages in Centennial Crossing are in the rear, and most feature alley access.