9 Landscaping Ideas to Boost Your Home’s Property Value
Improving your home’s curb appeal can have a big effect on its value—some estimates say it can increase your property value by as much as 20%! After all, if a prospective buyer doesn’t like the look of your home’s exterior and yard, they may not bother to look inside. A well-manicured yard complete with both soft and hardscaping elements makes your home more attractive to buyers.
Landscaping is a cost-effective way to give your home a spruce-up before you put it on the market. But even if you aren’t planning to list your home for many years, the effort you put into your outdoor spaces now can bring big returns when you do sell. Many landscaping improvements mature over time (such as trees), so it’s important to start early. Let’s go over some of our top landscaping ideas to boost your home’s property value.
1. Keep Up on Lawn Maintenance
Let’s start with the basics—maintaining a healthy lawn. Overgrown grass, weeds, dead spots, and other signs of neglect are a big turnoff for buyers and can drive down your property’s value. Create a lawn care schedule for yourself that includes mowing, watering, and fertilization, and do your best to stick to it.
Low-maintenance landscaping is attractive to buyers as well, because it’s easy to keep looking great. Consider planting perennials around your home that will come up every year without much work. For an even easier-to-care-for option, consider installing a rock garden in part of your yard.
Don’t want to do your own lawn maintenance? Contact McDonough to learn about our maintenance services or for help designing a low-maintenance landscape for your home.
2. Plant a Tree
Not only do trees add beauty and shade to your yard, they can also increase the value of your property. Planting a tree has the potential to add thousands of dollars to your home’s value. However, homebuyers look for mature trees, and it can take anywhere from three to eight years for a newly planted tree to reach maturity. Transplanting mature trees is another option, but one that can be quite costly. So if you want to see the best return on your investment, you’ll need to plant trees early on.
3. Prune Shrubs & Bushes
Nothing is worse for curb appeal than overgrown shrubs and bushes blocking the view of your home. Make it a point to prune and shape bushes each year to get rid of dead branches and overgrowth. Not only will pruning keep your shrubs looking their best, it will also encourage healthy growth and long life.
4. Lay Down Fresh Mulch
New mulch can quickly bring a fresh look to your garden beds. In addition to cleaning up the look of your landscaping, mulch provides nutrients your plants need to stay healthy and vibrant. Mulch helps retain moisture, prevent evaporation, insulate the soil, and maintain lower root temperatures.
Consider adding a paved or natural stone surface to complement your home and yard. A paved walkway is an inviting way to draw guests to the back yard, gardens, and outdoor living area. And a patio offers the ideal place to soak in the beauty of your landscaping, sip on your morning coffee, or enjoy an al fresco meal with family and friends. The more convenience and comfort you can add to your yard, the better—buyers will love it!
6. Highlight Your Home and Yard with Landscape Lighting
Landscape lighting is one of the most desired outdoor features for homebuyers. It illuminates your home, accentuates your landscaping, and improves your home security. Landscape lighting can also extend the use of your outdoor space well into the evening, giving you more opportunity to enjoy your yard. When adding landscape lighting, don’t forget to light up paths, walkways, driveways, and stairs to help guests navigate them safely.
7. Add a Water Feature
To really bring your outdoor space over the top, add a water feature. A fountain, waterfall or even a small stream or pond can really bring a yard together. The look and sound of moving water adds charm, peace, and tranquility to your outdoor space. And water features don’t require nearly as much upkeep as you might imagine—most are designed with water recycling features that help cut down on maintenance.
8. Create an Outdoor Living Space
Today’s buyers are looking for more than beautiful gardens (though those never hurt). They are looking for spaces that bring the comforts of the indoors outside. Outdoor kitchens, pergolas, swimming pools, and fireplaces or fire pits are in higher demand than ever before. Even outdoor living rooms complete with comfortable furniture and flat-screen TVs are becoming increasingly sought-after! Soaking in the elements of nature while enjoying all the comforts of the indoors is the name of the game here.
If you’re up for a larger-scale update to your yard, adding an outdoor living space like this can really boost the value of your property and wow a prospective buyer. But beware—with this kind of upgrade, you may decide not to sell after all!
9. Match Your Landscaping to Your Home’s Style
Whether you choose big changes or small ones, it’s vital to match your landscaping to the style of your home to create a seamless design. The style of your home should flow into the yard with colors, textures, and lines that blend harmoniously. For instance, if your home is full of calm neutral tones, you can incorporate those colors into your gardens and lawn furniture; if you decorate with wood or stone, your patio, walking paths, and other accents can reflect that.
Bonus: Turn to the Pros for More Landscaping Ideas to Boost Your Home’s Property Value
Ready to update your landscaping, but not sure where to start? The team at McDonough can help you design and build an outdoor space that meets your needs and budget while enhancing your home’s beauty and value. Contact us today for help with general landscaping, landscape lighting, water features, outdoor living areas, and more. We look forward to working with you!
