Does landscaping really increase your home value?
If you’re talking about the front yard, then YES, landscaping will increase the value of your home. Having a home where the front yard has beautiful grass that’s been cut, edged, and mowed, and flower beds that are weed free, with trimmed up bushes, and maybe even some blooms in them can help increase the value of your home. More importantly, if you’re selling your home, it can really impact how a buyer feels about your home. If a buyer drives by or drives up for a showing, and the front of your home is a mess, it’s probably going to indicate to them that you haven’t maintained the inside of the home as well and they may not even go inside the home at all. However, if they pull up and the house is beautifully landscaped out front, it’s like an invitation to come in and see this home that you’ve taken care of and take pride in. So yes, landscaping in the front does impact the value of your home.
Landscaping in the backyard is a little tricker. Since Covid, people are wanting to spend more time in their yards. So yes, having a patio, or a covered patio, an outdoor kitchen, a fire-pit, or even just a fenced yard with nice grass is going to impact your home value. A spa or a pool will also impact your value. The key is to not overdo it. If you put a lot of money into a fabulous pool, you know the ones, where it looks like you’re in some kind of paradise, with big boulders, or water fountains, or an amazing slide… you’re probably not going to recover all of that investment. However, you could possibly recover your investment with a moderate pool.
Same with outdoor kitchens…if you have that elaborate outdoor kitchen, with a sink and refrigerators, you may not recover all of that. But if you have just a nice outdoor cooking station, then you’ll probably recover that. Always do things moderately, and I recommend going ahead and doing it now while you’re living in the home so you can enjoy it. Even if it’s only for a season or a few months.
And if you are thinking about selling and need some advice about things you should or shouldn’t do, give me a call, I’d be glad to swing by and take a look at it with you so I can give you some guidance on where you should and shouldn’t spend your money.
And if you’re thinking about buying or selling, remember my team and I are on standby 7 days a week, 9AM to 8PM, ready to help you take the smoother road to sold.