Landscaping to Increase Home Sale Value

While it’s challenging to determine precisely how much landscaping contributes to the value of your home, studies have shown that landscaping can make a home more attractive to buyers and increase sale value by as much 12% (to even 28%) if done well.

The trick is … you guessed it … doing it well. Landscaping that’s poorly designed, includes too many finicky plants, or that’s styled to an eccentric owner’s unique tastes  can do more harm than good, making the property seem overly personalized or just too much work to maintain.

To ensure you’re making an investment in a space – one that will put money back into your pocketbook and encourage eventual buyers compete to call it theirs – make sure that you’re following a modern and clean design, using materials that are built to last, and that your space promotes an easy-to-maintain and functional lifestyle.

Here are a few tips that the team at Exact Landscapes shares with new clients when we conceptualize a new outdoor living space together:

 

Make it purposeful

Your outdoor living space should be designed with a sense of purpose. Is this a place where you will host family gatherings? Parties with co-workers or friends? Relax and enjoy by yourself? Play with kids? Consider what core features will be conducive to the kind of environment you’re trying to build. Maybe this means an outdoor kitchen becomes the centerpiece. Or perhaps a jacuzzi. Or even a play structure. Whatever your lifestyle, make sure your landscaping will promote it first and foremost.

Keep it clean

Simple, elegant, and easy-to-maintain spaces are more attractive to buyers (and your guests!) than overly complicated surroundings. The balance between simplicity and refined comfort can be accomplished by blending hardscaping with well-placed natural features, such as the right shrub, tree, or water feature. The key is in not overdoing it. Too many plants and details can look like unwanted work to buyers who don’t have the time to maintain it. Keep it simple.

Think about movement

The first impression of a space is how you walk into it. Think about how you, your family, or your guests will access the space. Will they enter from the house? From the driveway gate? From a path behind the home? Are there features of the landscape that would be nice to stroll through? Use paths and walkways to welcome people in, and create a sense of movement and destination throughout a landscape.

Consider the seasons

Surprisingly, one thing that most Canadians don’t think about is how a space can be used during the darker, colder months of the year. Well placed landscape lighting can make your space attractive even after the sun goes down, and features like saunas, hot tubs, outdoor fireplaces, and backyard ovens can make a space cozy and welcoming at all times of the year.

Use tasteful accents

The right pop of colour, texture, lighting feature, structure, or plant can tie a bow on a perfect space. A pergola, bench under an old established tree, or even a bright and cheerful colour for the front door can drawn people in and make a space memorable. A clever use of accents can also be used to hide an unpleasant sight (like an outdoor compost, or well cap), or provide additional privacy and noise insulation. Get creative.

 

Did this post spark some ideas for your outdoor living space? Give us a call, and let us help you bring that vision to reality.