Along with nightmare neighbours, high crime levels and bad Ofsted reports for surrounding schools, another factor than can drastically affect the value of your property is the condition of your garden. There are many subtle ways that your outside space can affect a sale; here are just a few of them…
Physical Attributes
According to a recent survey, keeping a tidy garden can add as much as 20% to a property, while other research suggests that failing to do so can drop a house value by as much as 5%.
No matter who you are, you’ll want to use the garden space to the maximum during those rare periods of sunshine. In order to make sure that your house keeps its value, think about who you’re targeting your home at and what they would want:
- Young couples: More focused on entertaining and throwing parties at home for friends and family, hot tubs are a recent trend that can add a significant amount to your house price, along with stylish outdoor lighting and heating for summer evenings. They’ll prefer mostly paved areas with low maintenance plants and shrubs due to their busy lifestyles.
- Families: As you can imagine, this is all aimed at family-friendly activities. Trampolines, plush garden furniture and outdoor built-in BBQs have all seen a peak in sales in recent years.
- Older couples: Gardens can be more of a project for elderly individuals who enjoy gardening and have the time to put into it. Investing in a simple water feature and designating areas for planters can make the area seem more inviting to a budding gardener.
Buyer Perceptions
Most of the reasons why house prices drop are down to the view of the buyer. Buying a house is a stressful process – you’re trying to find that perfect forever family home or urban pad, with lots of viewings and disappointments. It’s a big commitment, so the slightest thing can put a buyer off. All age groups enjoy spending time outside, and it’s still at the top of every buyers list.
It might be the case that your garden has great potential and you’ve never reached it, but a lot of people would rather continue their search for a home that already has had the work done for them.
With all this in mind, it might be worth considering investing in some garden DIY. If you want to find out whether your gardening efforts could make the difference, get in touch with the property experts at House Network for a free telephone consultation and a free home-visit valuation.