Does Landscaping Increase My Home’s Value?

When homeowners plan to sell their homes, they often focus their renovation budget inside the house on features that are most likely to get them the most money for their homes. This usually includes updating kitchens and bathrooms, replacing carpets, or repainting walls to neutral colors. Focusing on improvements inside the house can significantly impact the value of a home. But what about the outside? What role does garden landscaping play? Many homeowners have wondered, “Does landscaping increase my home’s value?” 

The quick answer to whether or not garden landscaping can increase your property’s value is yes — and no. Let’s consider how landscaping can increase your home’s value and several ways it may decrease it. 

Understanding the Impact of Curb Appeal

What determines if landscaping projects will increase a home’s value comes down to how the design impacts your curb appeal. Curb appeal is how attractive your home and its surroundings look when viewed from the sidewalk. Curb appeal encompasses not only the house, doors, and windows but also the lawn, gardens, trees, fences, and other garden accents. When real estate agents bring people to see your home, this first impression sets the stage for what potential buyers think of it and how much they might be willing to pay for it. Therefore, landscaping improvements that increase curb appeal can also increase the value of your home. Likewise, landscaping projects that decrease curb appeal can also decrease the value of your home. 

Landscaping Projects That Can Increase Your Home’s Value:

  • A maintained lawn – The first thing prospective buyers see when they tour a home they want to buy is the lawn and the landscaping. If they see a yard that is overgrown or full of weeds, that might give them the impression that the rest of the property was not well-maintained either, making it less likely they’ll be willing to pay top dollar for the property. Proper landscape maintenance is essential to improve your home’s curb appeal.

 

  • Landscape lights – Lighting in a lawn is an excellent safety feature that gives any landscape a high-end, elegant appearance. Outdoor lighting can include lamps, path lights, motion-sensor security lights, or accent lights that focus on specific elements of the home or landscape. 

 

  • Fresh mulch – Fresh mulch is a quick and affordable way to revive a tired landscape and give it some extra color that stands out on its own or helps to accent garden plants. Seeing freshly mulched flower beds suggests the homeowner pays attention to details. That can help make home buyers more confident about buying the property. 

 

  • Decks – Adding a deck is a great way to increase the value of your home. Those looking to purchase will likely appreciate having an outdoor space to relax or entertain guests. Decks also allow them to enjoy nature without necessarily being immersed in it. New homeowners can easily customize the look and feel of a deck with furniture and plants. A high-end deck featuring an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit, or a barbecue grill can also be attractive features for potential buyers.

 

  • Irrigation systems – Irrigation or automatic sprinkler systems make watering your lawn easier and more efficient. This feature can be very attractive to savvy home buyers looking to save money and water. 

Landscaping Projects That Can Decrease Your Home’s Value:

  • Trendy or niche landscape designs – You may love your theme garden, but some trends are more appealing to some homeowners than others. While you may find them beautiful or exciting, trendy landscape designs full of plants and trees that are difficult to maintain can quickly become outdated or perceived as tacky by potential buyers. When they see this type of landscaping, the cost of replacing it may be top of mind. That could be reflected in their offer for your house — if they place one at all. 

 

  • Pools – You may think having a pool is one way landscaping can increase a home’s value, but it can be one of the quickest ways to decrease the value of your property. While some prospective buyers might see a pool as a perfect spot to lounge in the summer, others will see it as an additional expense and maintenance chore. Pools require upkeep to make sure the water stays clean, and that upkeep costs money. In some states, homes with pools are also more expensive to insure. Additionally, buyers with young children may be turned off by the potential danger a pool poses to them. Depending on the prospective buyer, a pool might be a deal breaker for whether or not they even consider buying your house.  

 

  • Water gardens and other water features – A water garden can be an elegant and peaceful addition to any landscape. But, like pools, they require extra work to maintain. Ignoring a water garden or other water features can quickly cause unsightly algae growth or turn them into a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Creating a water garden and selecting a fountain can also express personal taste, which someone looking at buying the house may not share. So instead of making them want to buy the house, they might be considering how much it will cost to remove them. 

 

  • Fruit trees – You may love the idea of going out into your yard and picking some fresh apples or lemons. But others might be focused on having to clean up fruit constantly falling in their yard. This is especially true of berry trees, like blackberries, or trees that produce any other type of fruit likely to leave stains all over sidewalks, patio furniture, or cars in the driveway. 

 

  • Artificial grass – When people install artificial grass, they likely think it is an excellent way to create a low-maintenance lawn. But home buyers may prefer the look and feel of natural grass, so the expense of having artificial grass installed won’t do much to help increase the value of your home.

How Can You Create Landscaping That Increases the Value of Your Home?

If your landscaping needs to be updated or you’re unsure how to best use landscaping to increase your home’s value, contact Anthony Landscapes. We offer home landscaping in Doylestown, PA, and can help you come up with landscaping ideas that will make the best impression on any buyer touring your home. And if you already love your landscape but need it spruced up for the season, we also offer spring clean-ups in Bucks County, PA.

Call us today for all of your garden landscaping needs!