Your house is in a prime location, you’ve updated the interior to boost its value, and you’ve repainted it inside and out in sought-after colors. Is there anything else you can do to guarantee more and bigger offers from potential buyers should it come time to sell? Experts tell us there is: It’s time to turn your attention to landscaping.
Take your home’s total value and divide it by four. That’s the amount experts suggest spending on your yard. “A budget of at least 25 percent of your property’s worth should be invested in your landscape in order to retain the value of your home,” landscape designer Amy Hovis, principal and owner of Eden Garden Design in Austin, advises. “With landscape improvements hovering at a 200 to 400 percent return on investment, it makes a lot of sense to hire a designer and do it right.”
Before you go all-out with plants and hardscaping, let’s focus on the changes that will tangibly increase your property value. We reached out to real estate and landscape design experts Gagan Saini, director of acquisitions at JiT Home Buyers; landscape architect Bryan Clayton, CEO of lawn-care marketplace GreenPal; design director Kevin Lenhart of the online landscape design site Yardzen; and designer Carol Kurth of Carol Kurth Architecture + Interiors to find out what exactly you should do to maximize your yard.
Plot Beautiful Pathways
The walkways in your yard and garden aren’t just for practical purposes—they can provide visual interest too. “Designing transitions from a pool house with exterior hardscape, such as utilizing large scale stone and steps and pathways, you can navigate grade changes and at the same time create an architectural solution that is softened by landscape beds,” Kurth says. “Details such as pebbles between the pathway joints add a modern Zen touch to the landscape and help to define the aesthetic.”
Incorporate Lighting
“An element that adds drama to the landscape is integrating the usage of lighting, which further extends the use of your landscape into the evening hours,” Kurth says. “Creating outdoor living spaces and finding ways to navigate tricky terrain expands your home’s livable footprint, provides enjoyment, and blurs the boundaries between indoor and outdoor living.” Remember: You can do this fairly easily with solar-powered lighting!
Plant a Low-Maintenance, Sustainable Garden
“Landscaping is that silent ambassador that speaks volumes about your home, creating that crucial first impression,” Saini says. “An artfully landscaped garden is the x-factor that significantly uplifts your property's value.” But many potential buyers aren’t going to want to put in too much effort to care for the garden, so low-maintenance features like irrigation systems can help boost your home’s value. “Here’s something most people don’t know: Sustainable landscaping practices can significantly increase property value,” Clayton says. “By implementing water-efficient irrigation systems, using native plantings, and opting for organic fertilizers, you demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. This appeals to environmentally conscious buyers and adds an extra layer of value.”
Develop Outdoor Living Spaces
Indoor-outdoor living is all the rage, even in four-season destinations, so you’ll want to build out an alfresco space for day-to-day use. The key is not to go overboard—just keep it simple. “If you’re designing for enjoyment now and ROI later, just think of adaptable, functional elements,” Lenhart says. “In other words, focus on functional features like a fire pit area or flexible space like a patio, deck, or outdoor dining area that’s adaptable to many potential buyers versus very personalized features like a putting green, elaborate water feature, or built-in pizza oven.”
Make Difficult Terrain Usable
If you have a hilly property, go the extra mile to add retaining walls to create usable outdoor space. “Creating and revitalizing spaces with complicated terrain can transform an underutilized space and elevate a home in terms of enjoyment, lifestyle, and property value,” Kurth says. “Our Oasis project [shown above] illustrates how a site with a steep grade change can be transformed with fieldstone retaining walls—one of which was used to create an oversized herb garden for meals alfresco—and a thoughtful verdant landscape.”
Keep Up with Maintenance
This may sound obvious, but when you’re ready to list your home, be sure all your landscaping is impeccably maintained. Remember: First impressions are everything, and it’s all too easy to let landscaping get away from you as you prepare your home for sale. “Proper landscape maintenance is essential. Well-maintained lawns, trimmed hedges, and weed-free gardens contribute to a polished and cared-for appearance,” Clayton says.
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