Landscaping Tips That Can Increase Your Home’s Value
When you own a home, there’s a natural desire to invest in landscaping projects that help beautify your yard. But for those who are preparing to sell, the emphasis should be on specific projects that boost your home’s curb appeal and add to its value. The following landscaping tips can help you position your home to sell at the best price. Landscaping tastes can vary from area to area, so we recommend talking to your agent to learn more about what local buyers are looking for.
Beautify Flower Beds
Beautifying your flower beds is a matter of making improvements in two areas: the flower beds themselves and the border surrounding them. Flower-lined pathways leading toward your home’s front door help guide buyers’ eyes and create a natural aesthetic order to your front yard. Choose colorful blooms to inspire a vibrant look. Add fresh mulch or bark to your flower beds to make them pop. Creating a border with stone, brick, clay or another similar material will help delineate flower beds from grass while delivering a clean, refined aesthetic to your property.
If you’re designing new borders to your flower beds, think about the traffic patterns, the orientation of the house in relation to the rest of your neighborhood, and your front yard’s location to ultimately settle on the best sight lines. Spend time weeding the area where your border will go. To dissuade future weed growth, consider adding a thin layer of sand or gravel between the dirt and your border pavers. Finally, clean your hardscaping with an outdoor cleaner or pressure washer to get rid of built-up dirt and moss.
Rethink Lawns
While a lush, green lawn has been the gold standard for most American homes for generations, in California, lawns are becoming less desirable. Ongoing drought conditions and maintenance means more buyers are looking for landscaping alternatives that require less water and care. Lawn alternatives include low-growing groundcovers such as sage, creeping thyme, and clover. Or, consider landscape designs that feature native plants such as leafy reed grass, fescue, and yarrow. Artificial turf is also increasing in popularity, with modern versions looking and feeling like the real thing. If you aren’t ready to give up your lawn just yet, consider drought-tolerant grass varieties that can survive hot summers.
Add Landscape Lighting
Once you’ve finished the actual planting, you’ve done well to ensure that your home’s landscaping will look its best — during the daylight, that is. To ensure that buyers feel the work you’ve put into your home around the clock, consider installing landscape lighting. This will help to put your home’s qualities on full display during the nighttime, while also adding a welcoming touch for potential buyers and passersby. Consider solar pathway lights, spotlights on trees or statuary, and deck lights on posts or stairs.
Plant Trees
A shade canopy is a must in Sacramento — after all, it is the City of Trees! Trees and shrubs, especially mature ones, increase your home’s value. Not only do they protect outdoor living spaces from summer heat, they also add privacy. Installing mature trees is costly, but starting them ahead of time when they’re small — before you plan to sell — can lead to big payoffs. Also, consider planting fast-growing trees, such as some oaks, ginkgo, and maples, or other trees suited for the Sacramento region.
Build Outdoor Living Spaces
Sacramento-area residents spend much of their time outdoors, and outdoor living spaces are not only preferred, but expected by many home buyers. If you don’t already have one, consider building a deck or patio to expand the usable living space of your home. Adding amenities such as outdoor kitchens, built-in fireplaces, outdoor ceiling fans and pergolas increase value even more.
Spruce up Your Front Porch
Making a first impression is key when selling your home, so give your front entry some love. Add planters to your front porch to create flow from your front yard to your entrance. For the ultimate front porch aesthetic, think of ways that you can create symmetry with your planter boxes. Nest them along the borders of windows, select planter boxes with dimensions that compliment a seated bench, or place identical boxes on either side of your front door. Consider building a pathway leading to your front door to create a welcoming vibe.
Post written in part by Sandy Dodge, Windermere Real Estate
Category Home Inspiration
Elizabeth Penney
Elizabeth Penney is a content writer for Lyon Real Estate and the Lyon Local blog. A Sacramento native with a marketing background, she shares her insider knowledge on restaurants, attractions and outdoor activities throughout the greater Sacramento area and beyond.