Speed Sales and Increase Values Sustainably

A well-designed, sustainable landscape produces quick, substantial returns on investment.  With the right strategies, you can both speed time to sale, and increase home and neighborhood values.  Here are a handful of tips for raising home values in your neighborhood.

1. Add/preserve trees: Simply preserving trees is a smart action, as tree value and impact increases as canopy increases.  Trees increase salability and improve home value by 7-19 percent.  In fact, the impact of trees is so profound, strategically placed trees may add value to multiple properties, even neighborhoods.
2. Create park space.  Homebuyers describe park space and walking/jogging paths as highly desirable community features.  Studies suggest parks improve home values by 20 percent for park-adjacent properties and 8-10 percent for homes as much as 3 blocks away.  Landscaping school spaces has a similar effect.
3. Expand plant beds, plant natives: Lush and varied plant life increases home value and speeds time to sale.  The best value is achieved by selecting a palette of native foliage, which may include a natural lawn.  In California, this delivers year round greenery that grows in size and value each year.  The resulting lush, leafy landscapes appeals to homebuyers as do the lower energy costs that come with them!
4. Use gravel or pavers for patios, walks and drives:  Gravel, pavers, and decomposed granite are beautiful options for traditionally hardscape areas. Permeable materials can have a lower initial cost than a concrete. While attractive hardscape alternatives, these materials are not suitable alternatives to lawns and can give neighborhoods a blighted aesthetic.
5. Irrigate smartly:  Smart irrigation is essential to the success of strategies 1-3.  It can substantively increase the water savings delivered by wise planting strategies.

Sources and More Information

• The Effect of Landscape Plants on Perceived Home Value.  Virginia Cooperative Extension (Virginia Tech and University of Virginia).
• What Homebuyers Want Survey Results.  National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
• Green Cities, Good Health.  University of Washington.
• Outdoor Renovation Projects with the Highest ROI. Inman, Los Angels Edition.
• How Much Value Does Landscape Add to a Home?  Washington Post.
• Does Landscaping Increase Property Value? San Francisco Chronicle Home Guides.
• Increase Home Value with Mature Trees. HGTV.
• Money Does Grow on Trees. Los Angeles Times.
• Garden/Garden Data.  City of Santa Monica.
• After the Lawn. KCET.

Sustainable Design Strategies that Increase Property Value

A well-designed, sustainable landscape produces nearly-immediate, substantial returns on investment, and its value increases as it ages.  If you are going it alone, here are our top tips for increasing both your sustainability and your home’s value.

1. Make a plan: Think about how you live and what you want to do outdoors. Having a plan, even if you implement it slowly, will help you achieve the results you want, save costs over winging-it, and result in a more unified aesthetic.  It is that unified aesthetic that will attract homebuyers and add value.  It will also ensure you will want it to endure – a key facet of sustainability.
2. Add trees: Each tree increases salability and can add 7-19 percent to your home’s value.  Tree value increases as canopy increases, so simply preserving trees is a smart action. The impact of trees is so profound, you may actually add value to neighboring properties! You can also expect trees to reduce energy costs. For the greatest impact, plant deciduous trees to the west where they will reduce the heat of the sun in summer and let it through to warm your home in cooler months.
3. Expand plant beds, minimize grass:* Lush and varied plant life increases home value and speeds time to sale. To get the most bang for your buck, pick a limited plant palette of native foliage.  In California, this choice will deliver year round greenery that grows in size and value each year.
4. Create an outdoor room: Homebuyers report valuing outdoor living spaces. Define these spaces with permeable materials like pavers with gravel or foliage joints. They deliver water savings alongside high visual interest, particularly when compared to concrete.
5. Maintain what you create. A clean, trimmed and mulched landscape increases curb-appeal, protects home value, and prevents property damage. Strategies 1-4 can shrink the size of this task:  Sustainable landscapes costs less and takes less time to maintain than traditional landscapes.  One more bonus: homes with easy to maintain landscapes are more salable!

*Replacing a traditional lawn with an IdealMow® lawn and upgrading irrigation produce immediate returns on investment.  Those are more technical projects for which we recommend using a professional.

Sources and More Information

• How Much Value Does Landscape Add to a Home?  Washington Post.
• Does Landscaping Increase Property Value? San Francisco Chronicle Home Guides.
• Garden/Garden Data.  City of Santa Monica.
• Increase Home Value with Mature Trees. HGTV.
• Landscaping:  A Good Investment. Bob Vila.com.
• Money Does Grow on Trees. Los Angeles Times.
• Patio Pavers Rock Out.  Houzz.