It may seem like investing in landscaping is a waste of time, money, and effort. After all, that spruced-up front yard shall not remain beautiful over time. But according to a study, doing so increases your home value by as much as 200% compared with kitchen and bathroom improvements (125%) and outdoor pond or swimming pool (50%).
With this in mind, it goes without saying that improving your home’s landscape, even just the front yard, can double the amount you paid for it in the first place. But how does it appreciate your house’s price, exactly?
Here are five ways excellent landscaping truly amplifies the value of your home:
1. Excellent landscaping can improve appearance and appeal to potential buyers.
A report made by Husqvarna Global Market based on interviews of real estate agents, said that 70% of them believed and noticed that a neglected landscape of a home decreases its overall value by 15%.
To test this theory, the company divided 5,000 homeowners into two groups and showed a picture of a house in each one. Group A got a photo of a house with a beautiful and spruced-up front garden and Group B had a house with a plain-looking front yard.
The results? Group A appraised the house at 26% more than the value given by Group B. The study showed that landscaping really does give tremendous rewards by making your home more inviting to home buyers.
2. Excellent landscaping benefits the health and well-being of the home owners.
Numerous studies have already proven how being one with nature can help in enhancing cognitive function, relieving stress, and boosting the immune system, among others.
And the good news is that you do not have to travel and find a rainforest to reap the benefits. By ornamenting your home with the right trees, shrubs, and other green, vegetative objects, you can get exactly the same benefits right in the comfort of your own home.
Aside from the calm and peace brought by spending time in the garden, maintaining its pristine look can also give tremendous rewards. Pruning the shrubs, weeding out pests, and other gardening-related activities can give your body the physical exercise it needs.
3. Excellent landscaping can be an avenue in helping the environment.
Those trees and shrubs surrounding your home are not just for aesthetic purposes because they are created to release oxygen which we use to breathe and carbon dioxide which is proven to be the main culprit of global warming.
Aside from its environmental benefit, trees increase your home value by providing natural lighting and shading plus cooling properties, both of which can help in reducing your air conditioning and lighting usage by as much as 50%.
In time, these conservation efforts may reflect in your notes. Not only does it increase the value of your home, it reduces your living expenses, too.
4. Excellent landscaping channels creativity on a larger scale.
If you are into arts (or even if you aren’t!), you can cut costs tremendously by DIY-ing instead of hiring a professional landscaper. Turn your backyard into a huge canvas and create a scenery you want to spend time on!
Just remember to research thoroughly as to what materials and designs work best for the theme and motif you would like to have. Plan the landscape well before springing into action.
As Paal Grant, a Melbourne-based landscaper said in an interview: “[Landscaping is] similar to cooking; if you throw in a million ingredients it can taste pretty awful.” He’s right!
5. Excellent landscaping can provide privacy when needed.
Trees, especially those that have large canopies, not only provide wonderful shade and lighting. Their branches can also help in covering your windows and doors just enough to give you the privacy you need while giving cool air inside the room at the same time. Two birds, one stone.
Unfortunately, home landscaping does not come cheap. According to Cost Figures, fill dirt, being the most important material in landscaping, needs to get the biggest chunk of your landscaping budget. In the UK, a good quality fill soil can cost you around £22 to £28 per tonne, excluding VAT.
But looking beyond the price, investing in good landscaping can give you a return on investment that would cost more than what you plan to spend. These five ways are just a few of the things that potential buyers consider when looking for their forever home.
Written by Claire Alison who is a landscape artist, maintaining her own and everybody else’s backyards and gardens. Besides her penchant for gardening and such, she is also an online writer, and she is passionate with what she does.
Thank you Claire for such an interesting piece. Enjoyed this post? Please share your articles with us by emailing marketing@hedgesdirect.co.uk or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
