You’ve probably heard of the importance of curb appeal. Curb appeal is VERY important. You want prospective buyers to at least get out of the car and enter the house! Many potential buyers decide NOT to buy just because of a poor exterior appearance. It’s natural that, if the exterior looks bad, prospects assume the house itself was not well maintained.
It’s Spring, the perfect time to get out and fix up your yard. And, the great news is that you actually increase the value of your home by improving the landscaping. Rake up dead leaves and debris, dig up plants that didn’t survive the winter and cut back dead branches from trees and bushes, kill weeds before they take over, trim and shape hedges. Enjoy a beautiful yard and get paid for it when you sell! Enjoy a beautiful yard and get paid for it when you sell!
A Money Magazine survey found that good landscaping can add seven to fourteen percent to the value of your home. That’s one of the highest return-on-investment remodeling tips I’ve heard.
A study by the American Society of Landscape Architects found that homeowners can receive between 100% and 200% of the money they invest in professional landscaping services when they sell their homes. Michigan State University research found that proper landscaping can increase a home’s sale value by about twelve percent. And a study by the U.S. Forest Service found that trees alone add three to seven percent to property values.
So it seems that money spent on well done landscaping is worth it for:
- the value of your home
- curb appeal which helps with selling
- the aesthetic enjoyment for yourself, your family and your neighbors, and
- trees and plants are healthy for the environment.
You can’t lose with good landscaping. Invest, enjoy and reap the rewards!
What are some of your favorite landscaping tips?
Jan 3rd, 2011 / 12:07 am
I completely agree. Landscaping adds value and certainly enhances the appearance of a home and neighborhood overall.