Can landscaping increase the value of your house?
So, can landscaping increase the value of your house? Landscaping affects the value of your home positively or negatively, depending on how you do it. Landscapers and property developers attest that a home with a good landscape holds more value than a typical home.
How Landscaping Affects the Value of Your Home
Landscaping is a significant investment in your home. However, it’s not cheap and thus affects the price of your property. For instance, a landscaping project can cost approximately $5,000 to $100,000 depending on the size of your home, location, design selected, and materials used. Also, plants and flowers have an impact on a budget while landscaping.
Additionally, the cost of labour in a landscaping project is a substantial investment. So, how much does a landscaper cost? Landscapers charge approximately $35 per hour for minor work, $50 for standard work, and over $70 per hour for complex projects.
Most professionals involved in the real estate business, such as realtors, architects, and landscapers, have conducted surveys and research about the Return on Investment (ROI) of landscaping in a home. Below are studies and what they found out concerning the impacts of landscaping on the value of a home:
A professionally landscaped home can sell for 15% to 20% more than a home with a less attractive landscape. Lawn care service and adding fresh mulch have a 35% and 126% ROI while selling a home. Landscaping can add up to 14% to the resale of a property and accelerates the sale time. In addition, the landscaping had a great impact on the occupancy levels, i.e., there were 8 to 20% higher occupancy levels than other standard properties.
How to Increase the Value of Your Home by Landscaping
The general guide requires you to invest 10% of your home value in landscaping. However, suppose you want to do a landscaping project, you should get a landscaper quote from a professional. Below are some landscaping practices and features that increase home value.
1. A Well-Maintained Lawn
A well-maintained lawn is a game-changer for your home. It does improve not only your home appearance but also the value of your home. For this reason, real estate agents recommend yard care before selling your property.
Maintaining your lawn entails mowing, edging, fertilizing, raking, and aerating the grass in your backyard. Most importantly, you should do it the right way. For instance, mow when the grass is dry and avoid cutting your grass too short. Also, weeding and regularly watering your grass is a good practice. Edging adds a clean look to a landscape.
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2. Applying Fresh Mulch
Mulch around garden plants and shrubs is significant in several ways, such as inhibiting weed growth, decreasing evaporation, preventing soil erosion, and moderating soil temperature. Additionally, fresh mulch recoups more than 100% upon closing. It gives the landscape a vibrant colour and economically improves the value of a home.
3. Landscaped Front Door Pathway
The first thing potential buyers see when they visit a property is the front door pathway to your house. A well-maintained walkway creates a positive image for the buyer, while a poor one will ruin the impression.
Get professional landscapers to design a pathway for your home or repair cracks if you already have one in place. Keeping it clean is also essential. Enhance your walkway with trimmed hedges and plants on the sides.
4. Automated Irrigation System
An automated irrigation system has a great impact on enhancing the value of your investment. It’s effective in watering your plants and lawn when necessary. Additionally, modern systems are integrated with sensors that detect the water levels in your landscape and water the right amounts when necessary.
5. Add a Water Feature
A water feature is among the things that enhance the tranquillity of your garden. A small pond, fountain, or waterfall will highly boost the value of your property. If you already own one, regularly clean and maintain it. Frequently remove leaves and algae from the water.
However, you ought to keep off expensive water features that require high maintenance since a potential buyer sees them as a liability. Simple and clean is more advantageous.
6. Plant Trees and Shrubs
The presence of trees and shrubs is an excellent boost to your property’s value. They also enhance the aesthetics of your landscape and privacy.
Hire professionals who will guide you on strategic areas to have trees without blocking natural light yet get shade in your backyard.
7. Lighting
Buyers appreciate a well-lit backyard. It’s necessary for safety and security. But, most importantly, it adds value to your home.
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Exterior lighting on your landscape increases the value of your property by up to 20%. Also, one of their surveys showed that exterior lighting was among the most wanted features by buyers.
There are numerous options for lighting your home’s outdoor space across all budgets.
8. Add a Patio
A patio is an important place in a home to enjoy outdoor space. Additionally, it improves your property’s value. It gives you a place to go relax alone to simply read a book, and a zone to spend time with your family or entertain friends on the weekends. As it serves so many purposes, it appeals to a wide range of buyers.
Above are some of the landscaping ideas that will significantly increase the value of your home. Of course, landscaping requires a substantial amount of money, but you can always recover it while reselling your property since it profoundly increases the value of your home.
However, other landscaping features are likely to hurt your home value. They include artificial grass, hot tubs, fruit trees, and a highly personalised landscape design. Also, outdated garden décor, broken fences, and cracked walls are a big turn-off to buyers.
Keep each of these features in mind when considering landscaping for your home.
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