5 Residential Development Tips

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.

 

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