Landscaping is always a good decision when choosing a yard home improvement project. Greening and tidying around your home will increase your property’s overall value, and it’s great for your health and the environment – now that’s a win-win proposition!
People are investing more in their yards, and the home-improvement leads that engine. One study by the University of Michigan showed that consumers prefer a landscaped home 11.3 percent higher than the same home that lacks good landscaping.
So, which improvements pay off? Here are some of the ways you can improve your yard to improve your home’s value.
Make lawn edges well-defined. Mow and edge your lawn. An edged lawn makes a yard or garden look tamed and sharp, giving it the appearance of lower maintenance that makes for a popular selling point. Working an edge is easy, you just need to use a sharp spade to cut a neat separation between the lawn and garden bed, fence or path. Also, you can use a physical barrier such as brick, steel, timber or stone.
Use plants for privacy. You can address your property’s lacks such as overlooking neighbours or roads by adding high plants in your garden. While the plants may not primarily form a complete visual barrier, the apparent improvement from a buyer’s point of view is still worth it.
Add mulch and weed. Both mulching and weeding your plant beds helps the garden look well-kept and low-maintenance. Pick a utility mulch such as forest fines or pine bark, rather than the generic ‘gardener-preferred’ options such as sugarcane and Lucerne. Utility mulches are neater, and in reality, when you’re selling, it’s less about the function and more about appearance. Don’t choose mulches that are too “out there”, such as dyed woodchip as these can put off home buyers.
Limit the number of plant species. Minimising plant species in your garden can make it give the impression of easier maintenance and more uniformed look. Still, don’t be too strict about limiting your choices. Instead, use some plant diversity as it boosts biodiversity, is good for the local ecology, extends flowering times, reduces pest impact and largely looks more exciting.
Add new lawn. A lush lawn can make any home full of life. If you’re covering a big area and want a cost-effective option, try Kikuyu since it’s about 50 percent cheaper than Buffalo grass. For instance, substituting 100 square metres of lawn in Sydney with Premium Buffalo can cost roughly $8.50 per square metre, while Kikuyu can cost $4.50 per square metre.
If your lawn looks a bit patchy or you’re seeing browned-off over winter, you can try over-sowing with a lawn seed blend generally made up primarily of rye grasses and fescue. This will thicken up and green your lawn.
Of course, none of this will make sense if you don’t have a yard – you might be living in an apartment, a condominium unit, or a row house without a yard allowance. If you’re home hunting, consider Calderwood Valley Community by Lendlease, where properties sport ample yard space – all in a thriving community with quick access to the CBD.