Landscaping Can Have Major Impact on Property Values: Appraisal Institute

The Appraisal Institute, the nation's largest professional association of real estate appraisers, today advised homeowners that improving their property's landscaping can result in a significant return on investment when selling the home.

Standard lawn care services recover 267 percent of the project cost at resale, according to the 2018 Modeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). The NAR report also revealed that landscape maintenance and tree care recover 100 percent of the project cost when selling the home, and installing an irrigation system recoups 86 percent of the cost.

"A home with lackluster landscaping or an exterior in desperate need of a fresh coat of paint will likely be unappealing to prospective buyers and ultimately could affect the home's potential resale value," said Appraisal Institute 2020 President Jefferson L. Sherman, MAI, AI-GRS. "Appraisers can offer ideas for homeowners to enhance their homes' landscaping and therefore to potentially boost their sales price."

The Appraisal Institute encourages homeowners to consider these four simple landscaping improvements:

- Keep the design updated and in line with comparable properties in the area.

- In arid climates, install landscaping that requires little or no water to maintain.

- In markets with year-round hot climates, plant trees in a place where they block the sun.

- Remove weak, old or damaged trees planted too close to a home or building as they could pose dangers to the home's structure.

- Larger tree root systems that extend underneath a house can cause foundation uplift and can leech water from the soil beneath the foundation, causing the structure to settle and sink unevenly. They also can compromise an underground drainage system.

- According to the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, trees that are too close to buildings also may be fire hazards.

Homeowners can learn more about how landscaping may influence property values by contacting a local designated member of the Appraisal Institute in the organization's Find an Appraiser directory.