First impressions are hard to undo, and the first impression that homebuyers get is from your yard and landscaping. But there are do’s and don’ts for landscape and garden improvements. Some changes will boost your home values while others will decrease it.
With everyone currently stuck at home, many people are turning to home improvement projects to stay busy. This might seem like a good idea initially, but some renovations can actually do more harm than good for your home value.
We found some relatively inexpensive items — such as lawn maintenance and mulch — gave a big return on the investment. But, surprisingly, other lawn and landscape features that many homeowners think of as wonderful assets — including pools and fruit trees — actually dragged home value down.
To determine these placements, LawnStarter gathered all available data from the past two years from reputable studies and websites showing the relative value of various lawn and landscape improvements, analyzing whether they helped or detracted from home value.
Here are 10 do’s and 10 don’ts for landscape and garden improvements:
Do’s
- A well-maintained lawn
- Shrubs and trees
- Tidy garden
- Landscaped pathway
- Lighting
- Fresh mulch
- All-season deck/outdoor kitchen
- Pop of color through container plants, garden bed
- Automated irrigation system
- Professional landscape design
Don’ts
- Artificial grass
- Outdoor water features
- Unkempt garden
- Broken fence panels, cracked walls
- Swimming pools, hot tubs
- Sports court
- Big concrete patio
- Fruit trees
- Old-outdated garden decor, furniture
- Highly personalized niche landscape design
For the full report
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
