Yet when it comes to the world of real estate, the rules of the playground do not apply. If you’re looking to get top dollar on your listing, we recommend you ignore everything you’ve been teaching your kids and focus on what really matters: outer beauty.
Read on for three ways to combat a neglected lawn and improve your home’s first impression.
Perhaps you already knew that curb appeal is the golden egg of home value, and according to a survey of 1,250 real estate agents, poor landscaping and hardscaping can have a detrimental impact on a home's worth. In fact, lackluster landscaping can decrease property value by up to 30 percent, according to the survey. However, the pendulum swings both ways, and there are a few easy fixes to remedy things, fast.
If we haven’t already made it abundantly clear, a well-maintained front yard is the key to drawing in prospective buyers. “When they observe a neglected lawn, or a home without any additional curb appeal, potential buyers immediately get the idea that the home was not well-maintained. They set a value of the home in their mind based on that, and it’s usually not a good price,” Kimo Quance, owner of the Kimo Quance Group in Santee, Calif., told Trees.com. “On the other hand, a neat, clean lawn puts the buyer’s mind at ease.” Think: clean-cut grass, freshly laid mulch and evenly manicured hedges and shrubs.
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So, you’ve cleared everything out…now what? The next step is bringing in some greenery, and according to the survey, the landscaping elements that add the most value include grass, trees and flowers. David North, a real estate broker in Redmond, Wash., explains: “a tree is one of the most natural and interesting ways to add color, texture and contrast to any home’s yard…The natural beauty of a tree can be especially powerful when it distinguishes one property from others, whether by different shape, color or size.”
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If 2021’s social front yard trend has taught us anything, it’s that replacing a water-hungry lawn with a permeable hardscape or groundcover is more appealing than ever. And, for those who don’t know, upgraded hardscaping—which refers to all of the structural or decorative elements of an outdoor design—is one of the top priorities for potential buyers. In the survey, real estate agents recommend increasing your home’s ROI by adding or improving decks (58 percent recommended this), driveways (54 percent), and an outdoor kitchen (47 percent).
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Eichenlaub can help you with your landscaping needs. Our designers know that the dramatic impact of a cascading waterfall as well as the smaller details, like the subtle shading of an heirloom rose, are equally important when creating a successful plan. Eichenlaub’s professional design staff creates each landscape plan with attention to the individual aspects of your property coupled with your needs.