Thinking about selling your home and looking for a way to increase its value while boosting your curb appeal at the same time? Hardscape landscaping may the best way to get the biggest bang for your buck. In fact, hardscaping is one of the few home improvements you can make that not only adds value immediately, but also increases in value as the years go by. In contrast, interior decor and design concepts regularly go out of style and mechanical systems wear down thus not allowing a homeowner to capitalize on the investment as much as one would hope. Let’s look at some of the statistics and reasoning from real estate studies and experts that show the benefits of landscaping with hardscape.
According to a real estate study done by the Herald Tribune, “The addition of trees, shrubs, plants, walkways, lighting, fire pits, raised planting walls and patios can increase the value of your property by 20 percent — almost instantaneously. Real-estate professionals have always known this. In yet another study done in Greenville, S.C., showed houses with “excellent” landscaping could expect to sell for 4 percent to 5 percent more than homes with just “good” landscaping. But those with only “fair” landscaping would sell for 8 percent to 10 percent below “good” houses. Virginia Tech found the numbers to be even higher. For example: the advantage for a $300,000 home ranged from 5.5 percent to 12.7 percent. That translates into an extra $16,500 to $38,100 in value!
The number one thing that real estate agents noticed was that home buyers appreciated was if the yard had sophisticated planning to the hardscaping. It is more than just sticking some planters in the corners of the yard and laying pavers for a fire pit. Hiring a landscaping designer to help plan this design in a way that compliments the flow, size and natural elements of your yard.