Articles on Adding Value to Your Home Through Landscaping
As printed in Smart Money Money Magazine (March 3, 2003):
YOU'VE DONE EVERYTHING humanly possible to boost the value of your home: put a trendy island in the kitchen, laid fresh carpeting to replace that dusty '70s shag, constructed a spa-quality bathroom bigger than most studio apartments. And now you're scratching your head, wondering how to jack up your resale price even more.
Look outside, silly.
After all, when well-heeled buyers pull up to your home, it's not the luxury faucets or the gorgeous granite counter they see first. It's the landscaping. And if your lawn is patchy, your trees are on their deathbed and your plants are a poor excuse for flora, it isn't going to matter what kind of magic you've worked indoors. Those buyers may keep on driving. "When people ask me how they can get strong interest in their property, I always tell them to fix up their landscaping,' says Walt McDonald, president-elect of the National Association of Realtors. "If a homeowner is reluctant to do it, I tell them they won't get top dollar."
That's the payoff. You will not only attract more buyers and get a quicker sale but also probably get a welcome boost in your sale price. "If you spend 5% of the value of your home on landscaping, and do it wisely, you might get 150% or more of your money back," says Massachusetts Realtor Gill Woods. And sometimes that number can go even higher. If your home's landscaping is on the low end for the area and you're putting it on par with your neighbors, you could be looking at a 15% rise.
Just ask Chuck Mitton of Cherry Hills Village, Colo. He and wife Jean went to town on the nondescript backyard of their ranch home a few years ago. A tangled mass of overgrown plants became a three-level wonderland, complete with ponds, waterfalls, dwarf conifer trees and fresh flowerbeds with roses and azaleas. Oh, and don't forget the new "hardscapes," such as a winding brick walkway, a backyard hot tub, and a barbecue pit and dining area, where the couple eat "almost every day" during warm weather. "If you're going to do some landscaping, I'd say do quite a bit," suggests the semiretired bookkeeper and investor, who spent $60,000 on his additions. "Then you can enjoy it yourself — and the value of your home will go up too."
The proof: When Mitton refinanced in 2001, the originally $250,000 home was reappraised at $750,000 — roughly $150,000 to $200,000 of which he attributes to the landscaping. "Landscapes take time to mature," says the 59-year-old, "but I'd say people might be able to make 200% of whatever they put in."
Plus, it can be fun. Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in America: In 2001 homeowners spent $37.7 billion taking care of their yards, up from $22.5 billion five years earlier, according to the National Gardening Association. While the increase has been fueled by a maturing boomer population and a spike in homebuying, people are also clueing in to the fact that it can add dollars to their home's value. And academic studies are proving it. A study by Clemson University and the University of Michigan found that consumers value a landscaped home up to 11.3% higher than its base price. And one Quebec survey found that hedges raised property values by 3.6%, a landscaped curb by 4.4% and a landscaped patio by a staggering 12.4%.
In fact, you're going to have to do what you can to make your property stand out, now that the housing market is cooling. Most real estate watchers, such as home-price research firm Fiserv CSW, are predicting slower price increases in the coming years; other market bears are warning of a steep drop-off. "Six months ago anything on the market had people clamoring," says Woods. "In a cooling market, it's going to be more difficult to get a buyer into a piece of property. The key thing now is 'curb appeal.'"
Such appeal isn't just about your lawn, trees, shrubs and flowering plants, though — these days you'll want to consider popular hardscapes such as gorgeous walkways, sweeping arches, full kitchen areas and barbecue pits, elongated patios and decks, elaborate backyard retreats and gazebos, and more. The stakes have been raised.
To put it into perspective: For a $500,000 home, on which you spend $25,000 to spruce it up, even a modest gain of 7.5% would put $12,500 of straight profit in your pocket. Though the result — a perfect yard — may look beautifully simple, a thousand factors contribute to it, from dealing with contractors and knowing what to plant to hiring landscape architects and designers, and making sure your costs don't spiral out of control. To sort out the complexities, we've broken down the four big trends du jour: curb appeal, the year-round yard, the sanctuary and bringing the indoors outdoors. And we've got insider tips for every stage of the process.
Read this article on SmartMoney.com
Reference: 'Fertile Ground' by Chris Taylor in SmartMoney Magazine (March 3, 2003)
The advantages of a professionally installed and maintained landscape go beyond "curb appeal" and head straight for the bottomline. A well-designed landscape invites customers in the door producing higher occupancy rates, increased rentals and lower vacancies. However, the savings go beyond occupancy when you consider that the proper selection and placement of plant material can lower heating and cooling costs by as much as 20% while creating a healthier environment. The use of landscape to lower noise levels, reduce crime and enhance unpleasant views are economical alternatives that add up to increased profits.
According to a study by Professor Joel Goldsteen, landscape amenities had the highest correlation with occupancies of any other architectural and urban design variables evaluated. His conclusion was "landscaping amenities pay back the developer as evidenced by the higher occupancies (and rents) clearly justifying the investment." A shopping center in San Diego cites landscaping as the reason for high occupancy and the ability to charge rental rates that are double those of other shopping plazas. The carefully designed project uses landscaping to create a refuge in the midst of a busy shopping area. A Chicago developer points to unique interior landscaping in glass-roofed atriums as a major selling point and reason the building occupancy rates are 21% above the national level. According to Judith Guido, Director of Marketing for LandCareUSA, landscaping can add as much as 14% resale value to building and speed the sale of a building by as much as 6 weeks. In the ‘90’s, as corporations are struggling to retain employees, the benefits of using landscape to create an enhanced work environment is a valuable sales tool.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article by Lucinda Harper, entitled "Landscapers Help Spruce Up Main Street," several revitalization efforts around the nation were cited where landscape was key to creating a sense of community and bolstering the local economy. The city of Valdosta, Georgia, according to Harper, had tried everything from incentives to restoring the facades of buildings only to find that $9 million in landscaping brought shoppers to the district who spend longer periods of time, which in turn, brought more shops.
Two other studies, one by Mark S. Henry of the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics at Clemson University and another by Robert L. Degner of the Florida Agricultural Market Research Center, University of Florida found that landscaping contributed to higher resale values in single residences. Interestingly, Mark Henry’s study, " The Contribution of Landscaping to the Price of Single Family Houses: A Study of Home Sales in Greenville, South Carolina," pointed out not only did homes with excellent landscaping sell 4 to 5 percentage points higher, but homes with poor landscaping in neighborhoods with excellent landscaping sold for 8-10% less. That means, if your landscape is not up to the standards of your local community, then it does have an impact. "Keeping up with the Jones," means better business.
As you prepare for the spring and summer, budgeting dollars for renovation and development will certainly come into focus. Landscape is an attractive alternative, which "grows" with time. According to the studies, city planners and developers, it can also pay back on the investment.
--Laurie Saunders is the Director of Marketing and Communications Manager at ALCA, the association representing over 2,000 professional interior and exterior landscape maintenance, installation and design/build firms and suppliers nationwide.--
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