Home gyms - one of the real estate trends that grew to a deciding factor during the pandemic.

Many of us have gotten used to being at home all the time, and now special attention is being paid to our homes and making them a compartmentalized oasis; separating spaces for relaxation, family time, work, and…fitness. 

We've written before about the necessity of creating a space for a dedicated home office in your house, but we haven’t touched on other things that buyers are looking for, so let’s talk about home gyms. They are really coming into their own since the shutdown. In fact, some homeowners are swearing they’ll never go back to paying for a gym membership ever again.

In 2020, 47% of buyers consider a home gym desirable according to the National Association of Home Builders, and the trend hasn’t stopped, even with the re-opening of popular fitness centers.  Many Realtors are saying that it’s a deciding factor on the purchase of a home.

How much does it cost to create a home gym? Well, of course that depends on what you’re starting with and what you want. If you’re starting with an unfinished garage and you want a bright finished space with mirrors and dedicated wall mounts for equipment, you’re looking at a heavy price tag. But if you already have a finished garage and you’re just looking at adding padded flooring, weights, a bench and a punching bag, you’re looking at around $600-$1,000.

The great thing is, you can build it for exactly how you like to work out. It can be a yoga paradise, a bodybuilding room, or a cross-training haven. We had a client who built out his garage as a racquetball court and another who created a large climbing wall (a great DIY project). You can also combine a home gym with the neighborhood pavement to incorporate biking, hiking, running, or walking. If you want to step up the combination possibilities, there are many personal coaches who make house calls or you can join a Zoom workout with a fitness pro anywhere.

Is it worth it? Well, the numbers don’t lie.

An average gym membership runs around $50 per month or $600 per year. With a home workout room, you can make a one-time investment and easily recover those costs over time. Home gyms also make it more likely that we will work out more often because we can work out whenever we want. We’re also not pressured by the presence of others so we are more likely to reach our fitness goals.

In the end, this is just one of the ways we have started to compartmentalize our living spaces by activity. With more flexibility in our work-from-home schedules, it’s easier than ever to adjust our lives to a more personalized natural rhythm. Working out at home in our private gym is just one of the factors we didn’t think about before the pandemic, but now, it’s a small luxury rewarded by this new way of life.