The benefits of landscaping your property are numerous. Landscaping adds aesthetic value to your home’s exterior, helps improve air quality, and creates beautiful and usable outdoor spaces. Strategically located and well-maintained trees and plants can even prevent erosion and provide privacy and noise control. But did you know that landscaping can also improve your home’s resale value?
According to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), professional landscaping can add 15-20% or more to the value of a home. Whether you’re looking to sell in the near future or down the road, it’s important to think about the potential return on investment (ROI) of various landscaping projects! Keep reading to learn more!
Landscaping Helps Curb Appeal
When potential buyers are scrolling through homes on Zillow or driving through the neighborhood looking for “For Sale” signs, they naturally – and sometimes unconsciously – prefer homes with beautiful and mature landscaping.
Brown or patchy grass and unhealthy-looking plants and trees can turn people away from attending an open house or making an offer. A well-appointed landscape will instantly boost your home’s curb appeal and establish it as a premium property.
How to Figure Out the ROI of Landscaping Projects
It’s pretty clear that professional landscaping in general can significantly boost your home’s value. But not all landscaping projects are created equal in terms of getting a good ROI (net income divided by total cost of investment). So what specific projects offer the best ROI? What projects don’t?
As a general rule of thumb, landscaping features that make a big impact but don’t require a lot of maintenance and upkeep will boost your home’s value the most. For example, if you enjoy growing your own fruits and vegetables, you may love the idea of planting an edible garden in your backyard. But growing your own food is a big commitment and, unless your potential buyer has a green thumb, they may see a vegetable garden as a drawback rather than a benefit.
Here are a few examples of professional landscaping projects that are low-maintenance, highly desirable, and offer the biggest bang for your buck!
Installing an Irrigation System
A home with a well-designed sprinkler and irrigation system is a win-win for buyers. Not only does a professional system ensure green grass all year, but it also significantly reduces the amount of lawn care and maintenance your potential buyer will have to worry about.
An irrigation system can significantly increase the sale price of your home, giving you an estimated ROI of about 85-90%.
Planting Large Trees
How do trees add value to your home? Simple. Buyers love mature trees and gardens. Not only do large trees look elegant and add character to your home’s exterior, but they also provide shade, improve air quality, attract birds and other wildlife, and help keep your home cool in the summer months.
Trees in your front yard can increase the value of your home by an estimated 3-5%, and planting them is a relatively inexpensive project. Planting native trees and other plants can have an even bigger impact.
Adding a Patio or Paver Walkway
Adding a new patio, pathway, driveway, or other hardscape can make a big difference in the value of your property. So can replacing an old concrete hardscape with elegant paving stones! At Blessing Landscapes, we’re experts in all kinds of hardscapes, from backyard patios, to stone steps, to retaining walls.
A simple patio can add 10% or more to your home’s sale price, and it can offer an ROI of over 80%.
Installing Outdoor Lighting
Outdoor lighting comes with a wide variety of benefits. A professionally installed lighting system can improve the functionality of outdoor living spaces, highlight your landscaping and the architecture of your home, improve safety, and add an upscale and luxurious feel.
Depending on the type of lighting you choose and how much space you need to illuminate, you can expect to see a 50-100% ROI.
Landscaping Jobs You Can Do On Your Own
Some projects are better left to professionals. But there are a number of DIY landscaping projects that can also boost home’s resale price.
Planting, watering, and pruning plants that increase property value is a great place to start. This is an affordable option that can have a significant impact on what you can sell your home for. Colorful plants tend to attract buyers more, and even something as simple as hanging a few flower baskets on your front porch can make a difference!
Here are a few other DIY landscaping projects that can boost your home’s value.
Repairing a Dead or Patchy Lawn
Dead spots, weeds, and overgrown grass aren’t just unsightly. They can also signal to buyers that other aspects of the home may not be well cared for. Reseeding your lawn, applying fertilizer, and treating your grass with weed control can make a big difference. At Blessing Landscapes, we also install synthetic lawns for maximum curb appeal and minimal maintenance.
Spending 5% of your home’s estimated value on lawn repair can yield a 15% increase in its sale price, making the estimated ROI about 150%.
Power Washing Your Hardscapes
Sprucing up your home’s driveway, walkway, and any other hardscapes can boost its curb appeal and send a message to buyers that your home is well cared for. Your front walkway is especially important, since it’s one of the first things potential buyers will see when they visit your home.
Power washing the hardscapes on your property is relatively simple and affordable, and can offer you a substantial ROI, in some cases boosting your home’s value by as much as $10,000-$15,000.
FAQs
Do fences help increase property value?
Adding a fence is actually one of the best ways to improve your home’s sale price. Why do fences add value to a home? There are a number of reasons, including:
- Adding privacy and noise control
- Enhancing visual appeal
- Improving security
- Providing safe areas for children and pets to play
Installing a wooden fence typically offers an ROI of about 60%, while a stone or metal fence may offer a 70% return or more.
Does landscaping affect an appraisal?
Absolutely. Appraisers generally take photographs and make notes of all aspects of a home, including its landscaping and outdoor spaces. After all, your front yard is one of the first things buyers will see.
In fact, the American Society of Landscape Architects recommends that homeowners invest 8-10% of their home’s value into landscaping projects and maintenance.
Let Us Help You!
Are you planning to put your house on the market? Have you been trying to sell and not getting any offers? Whether you’re selling in the immediate future or plan to stay in your home for a while, landscaping offers many benefits and can significantly increase your home’s overall value.
At Blessing Landscapes, we love working with homeowners in the Portland metro area to design, install, and maintain the beautiful outdoor spaces they’ve always wanted! We’re equally passionate about plants and helping our community.
Have questions about how we work? Want to discuss a specific project? Give us a call at (503) 284-3557 or contact us online to get started!