In talking to friends, family and clients, Australians have an emotional attachment to appreciating outdoor living. We all love the thought of enjoying warm summer evenings entertaining in our internal open floor plans entering into our outdoor courtyard.
Indoor and outdoor living seems to be in Australian’s DNA. This leaves us with an important question… Why should homeowners and sellers bother with landscaping?
Traditionally when discussing your plans to sell your home, the advice was often focused on improving the interior. From painting the walls, to replacing the carpets or to polishing the timber floor boards. These certainly help sell your home, but the market has changed… Designing a sophisticated landscaped garden could be equally as beneficial, but perhaps even a great positive outcome. Landscaping can add a significant value to your sale price. It’s been a common oversight. Landscaping is one of the few home improvements that add immediate value to your home. It also has a strong positive effect on the value long term.
The monetary benefits of a landscaped garden aren’t just apparent when you sell your home; a well-designed garden, including insulating hedges, shady trees and bushes by windows that receive harsh sun exposure has been shown to decrease the need for heating and air conditioning.
According to landscape economist John Harris, good landscaping can add up to 28% to your home’s overall value. Also according to a research paper Clemson University Professor Mark S.Henry, even taking your landscaping and gardening efforts from good-to-excellent could add significant value to your home – at least 6% – 7%.
Another research report conducted by Husqvarna Global Garden Report 2011, highlighted neglected landscaped gardens potentially reduce the property prices by somewhere between 5% – 15%. A strong number felt the price would be affected even worse.
Husqvarna Global Garden Report 2011 indicated that the more attractive the garden was designed and maintained the more appeal the house had overall. A well presented landscaped garden also changed the perception of the buyers’ awareness of the property value. To prove this theory, Husqvarna split a group of 5,000 homeowners into two and presented the first group with pictures of houses with well-maintained presented landscaping, while the second group was shown the same houses with a simple garden.
The first group estimated an average of 26% higher in market value compared to the second group! What an alarming variance.
As property advisers, we certainly believe the theory behind presenting beautiful gardens to your home. It doesn’t matter if the house is in Doncaster, Ascot Vale or central Melbourne, a well-maintained and landscaped garden doesn’t just positively influence the sales price it also reduces the time on the market.
While we have taken care to ensure the information above is true and correct at the time of publication, changes in circumstances and legislation after the displayed date may impact the accuracy of this article. If you want to learn more, please contact us. We welcome the opportunity to assist you.
Apr 2018
