Landscaping Adds Value

Patty Chaney Blog
Maui Real Estate News and Maui Lifestyle News

Landscaping Adds Value
Seller's Tips
March 05, 2008

When it comes to home renovations, no other project delivers as much bang for your buck as some well-planned landscaping. Most home renovations are money-losing propositions — you typically pay more for a new kitchen or bathroom than you get back when you sell your house. Quality landscaping can increased the value of a typical home in a middle-class neighborhood by up to 15% and up to 20% in a higher-end home. Adding a hedge boosted a home's resale value by 2.5%. On a $700,000 home, that works out to an $17,500 payoff on an investment of about $600. The same study estimated that putting in a patio boosted a home's value by 5%. On a $700,000 home, that translates into a $35,000 payoff on an investment of $10,000. You won't find profit margins like this in the stock market!
An eye-catching front yard with “curb appeal” in particular, can help sell your house more quickly. A nice front yard takes a good picture. When you're selling, it gets more calls and showings. In many cases, it can even get a better sale price. Whether you have a small 7,000 square foot lot, or a half-acre, there are many ways for you to harvest riches in your own yard. Here's how:
Plant a tree
If you do nothing else, invest a few hundred dollars on a tree for your front yard. A tree can boost your home's resale value and there are other payoffs as well. A shade tree helps to cool your house in summer as well as enhancing your privacy and buffering you from street noise all year round. Choose a fairly large tree. A few best bets in Hawai’i are a California Pepper, Rainbow Shower, Orchid tree, Royal Poinciana, Jacaranda or Singapore Plumeria, the latter five will give you a brilliant display of flowers depending on their flowering season. Expect to pay $200 to $1,500, depending on size, for a seven to eight foot tree.
Unlike plumbing or electrical work, landscaping is an area where amateurs shine and a piecemeal approach is fine. You can spread the cost and labor involved in planting a garden over years, or you can simply plant a few trees. In 10 years, a modest $300 sapling will grow into a substantial tree — and, according to appraisers, a mature tree can add up to $10,000 to the value of a middle-class home. In landscaping, if nowhere else, time really is your friend.

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Blogs for March 2008