For clients considering selling their home and hoping to get the best possible price, having an up-to-date landscape is a big advantage. A beautifully renovated home with an outdated landscape can feel incomplete and may discourage buyers looking for a move-in-ready home. Landscape improvements can make a home more attractive to buyers, while increasing resale value relative to comparable homes. The key question is how to gain an increase in resale value that is greater than the cost of the landscaping work. We will explore this in more detail and provide some thoughts on how to get the most out of your landscaping investment.
WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH TELL US?
First, what is the real impact of landscaping on resale value? The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has suggested that professionally landscaped homes can sell at a 15%-20% premium over comparable homes with modest landscaping, and that homeowners typically see a return of 100%-200% on the cost of landscape improvements when the home is sold. Comparable studies have not been conducted in Canada, although it has been suggested that increase is generally in the 5% – 20% range. Further, in a period of rapidly rising house prices (as we have recently experienced in British Columbia), buyers have been willing to pay high prices for homes regardless of the condition of the home. In a more normalized housing market, we may expect these improvements to carry more weight.
HOW MUCH SHOULD YOU SPEND ON LANDSCAPING?
So how much should you spend on landscaping, and how can you maximize your return on investment? The ASLA suggests spending 10% – 20% of the value of your home on landscape improvements, with the expectation of a 15% – 25% increase in home value. The basic principle is to spend slightly less than your expected return in order to completely recover the cost of your landscape improvements. Not all improvements will meaningfully increase resale value, and the way you allocate funds can affect your return on investment. Here are a few key strategies to get the most value out of your landscape improvements:
STRATEGIES TO INCREASE HOME VALUE
- The landscape should complement the home: A buyer who is attracted to a house will likely be attracted to a similar style of landscape. The landscape should match or complement the style of the home. The materials, forms, patterns and colours used in the landscape should be selected with this in mind.
- Go for broad appeal: Overly personalized landscape features (ex. sport courts, exotic plant specimens) are expensive and may not appeal to all buyers. Instead, create outdoor spaces that are likely to be used and enjoyed by everyone such as an outdoor dining area or a private, covered space.
- Extend the living space into the outdoors: A private outdoor space that connects seamlessly to the home is something that most buyers will value, especially in urban areas. Extending the usable space of the home into the outdoors can make it feel larger and more functional, especially if the outdoor space is covered for year-round use.
- Low maintenance design: Choose trees and plants that are well-suited to the site conditions and drought resistant. If possible, install an automatic irrigation system to take care of watering during dry summer months. Choose quality materials that will age well and are easy to clean, and ensure that there is good drainage.
- Add lighting: Install outdoor lighting to highlight landscaping features and improve safety and security. Well-placed lighting enhances the visual appeal of the property and makes the outdoor spaces more inviting and functional in the evening hours. Done properly, lighting can be one of the most high impact improvements relative to its cost.
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