Add value to your home via your garden
A garden has always been an asset when selling a property but since the pandemic, home movers have found a new love for lawns, terraces, courtyards and even balconies. In fact, our enjoyment of the great outdoors led to property buyers participating in a survey by the AA claiming they’d pay 5% more for a home that had a garden.
Keep it neat and tidy to add 20%
Sellers should be aware that the condition of their garden – and what’s in it – can also affect its value. Figures obtained by Move Places from mytoolshed.co.uk suggest a well-kept garden can add 20% to the value of a home – which works out an extra £57,306, based on Halifax’s May UK house price average of £286,532.
What does well kept mean? A garden that’s well kept will be neat, tidy and immediately usable when a new owner moves in. If you’re selling your home, concentrate on weeding the flower beds, cutting back overhanding branches, keeping the lawn mown, removing or replacing anything that’s broken, such as sheds, fence panels and garden furniture, and tidying away toys.
Lift value further with landscaping
If you really want to add value to your property, homeowner can go one step up from a well-maintained garden with landscaping. According to research by the Post Office, landscaping your garden could lift your property’s value by 77%. Redesigning can encompass hard landscaping (patios and paths), soft landscaping (flower beds and lawns), water features, garden rooms and adding tiered levels.
Try a new style of planting
If you’ve had trees removed as part of a landscaping project, don’t overlook the garden stumpery - a way of repurposing an old tree stump or trunk. Adding plants to decaying wood was popular with the Victorians but this environmentally-friendly way of repurposing something old is having a renaissance. Simply fill any gaps with compost and add plants suitable for the conditions among the gnarly roots and branches. Try hostas, hellebores, bluebells, snowdrops and primrose for stumps in the shade, or erigeron, peonies, delphiniums, lupins and angel’s fishing rod for sunny spots.
Cook up extra value
Also on-trend is the outdoor kitchen. As a nation, we have moved on from the humble freestanding BBQ and now desire a place where we can grill, smoke, store and serve. As well as a built-in BBQ, consider a pizza oven, outdoor fridge and a sink. Although it may sound superfluous, analysis by Roofing Megastore found an outdoor cooking area can add as much as £6,385 to a property’s value.
Add outdoor room
If you have space, an outdoor room is always well received by home buyers. There is a sliding scale to what you can incorporate, based on space and your budget. A shed is an entry level addition but even this humble structure can add up to £12,465 to your home’s value, according to mytoolshed.co.uk. If you can erect a garden room, you’ll be rewarded. A high quality garden room with power and insulation could increase the value of a property between 5% and 15%, according to Cabin Master, as they’re prized for their versatility as home offices, gyms and hobby rooms.
If you’re in search of a new home with a garden or balcony, please contact the team today to discuss our properties for sale. Move Places is able to provide a free, no-obligation valuation if you’d like to know how much value your garden has added to your property.