These days it's not uncommon for a property search for high net worth individuals to come with a car brief. At this level of the market a buyer will likely have at least three cars: a sports car, such as a Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin, a Bentley, and the latest top-of-the-range Land Rover. Given that a basic car collection can be worth over £500,000 – and we regularly see collections worth seven figures – a standard double garage is not going to pass muster.

The space and technology dedicated to cars by both developers and home owners is certainly growing. We’ve seen homes with everything from heated driveways, temperature-controlled garages and purpose-built car dens to padded garages, hydraulic car lifts and car turntables.

On the gated estates in Surrey, developers have used the spec of the garaging to distinguish their houses from other properties. Just last year, a house on St George’s Hill had two large reinforced glass panels fitted into the floor of the study to allow the owners to admire their supercars in the garage below. Similarly, there's a property on The Wentworth Estate, also in Surrey, with a garage for up to 10 vehicles, accessible by a car lift.

The once humble garage has come a long way from being somewhere to store junk.