How much value does a garden add to a property?
This is a subject that’s been on my mind a lot recently because we’re currently in the throes of having our garden and driveway redone.
But I’ve been thinking, how much value does a garden add to a property and will it be worth it? Will it actually add the value that we’re hoping it will?
Then, an email landed in my inbox this morning from House Beautiful. They’ve written a post about how landscaping your garden could increase your property’s value. And how much value do they think a landscaped garden adds to a property? A whopping 77 per cent!
Does a garden add value to your property?
Doing up your garden could add more value to your property than a new kitchen, conservatory or an extension, and it costs just a fraction of the price. The introduction of decking, a new patio or new fencing could make your property more desirable.
They calculated that the cost of garden landscaping is around £2,750, whereas an extension could cost up to £80k! I definitely know which option I’d rather go for.
Chrysanthy Pispinis from Post Office Money, the company that conducted the research, has said that:
Over the past few years, house price growth has slowed, so homeowners have turned to other options to add value to their homes. Making the right changes to your home can increase its market value significantly – with garden landscaping coming out on top for the most value added.
However, home improvements are not all about making changes which add value for re-sale; 63 per cent of the homeowners we polled had no plans to move.
It’s certainly interesting that people aren’t necessarily making such changes to increase their property value but because they want to make their home look nicer and reflect their personality more. I will be honest and say that we’re doing it to increase the property value and make our home sell faster (hopefully).
How much value does a driveway add to a house?
The outside of the house is what potential buyers see first and we wanted ours to look presentable and be practical too.
The way it was when we bought it, we couldn’t fit two cars on it because of the abundance of (overgrown) plants. To us, this felt like a wasted space. We have two cars which can’t be parked down the side of the house (well, they could, but it’s a huge struggle to get out without banging your door against a wall).
Post Office Money have suggested that it could cost £25k to do up a driveway and that it could only fetch you a 9% property value increase. This is a phenomenal price and one that we’re definitely not paying. We’ve bought used materials and my husband will be fitting them all himself. We wanted to spend as little as possible to see a maximum return.
One of the first things we did when we moved in was remove those plants on the paving slabs and put temporary paving slabs down. But the cracked concrete combined with cracked paving slabs isn’t giving the front of our house ANY curb appeal. So we’ll be block paving the front and all the way up the side and increasing the width of the front pillars so we can easily get two cars in.
In the back garden, we had a horrendous car port that would block lots of light, the garage was damp and rotting and we had a major bamboo problem.
We’re hoping, by the end of the garden renovation, that our garden will look miles bigger and will be a nice space to relax in with a glass of wine.
Summarising the Survey Results
Post Office Money analysed over 2,000 interviews with UK homeowners and found that only 18 per cent have landscaped their garden in the last five years. Out of the 18 per cent, 28 per cent did so to add value to the property, while 59 per cent just wanted to make it look nicer and a more relaxing place to sit.
Below is a list of how much home improvements cost according to Post Office Money, ranked most expensive to least expensive.
- Basement conversion – £90,000
- Extension – £80,000
- Swimming pool – £30,000
- Driveway – £25,000
- Gym – £10,000
- Conservatory – £9,000
- Wet room – £7,500
- New kitchen – £7,500
- Jacuzzi/hot tub – £6,000
- Walk-in wardrobe – £3,400
- Garden landscaping – £2,750
But how much do each of these improvements add to the value of your home?
- Garden landscaping – 77%
- Gym: 44 per cent
- Extension: 37 per cent
- Walk-in wardrobe: 34 per cent
- Jacuzzi/hot tub: 27 per cent
- New kitchen: 26 per cent
- Swimming pool: 22 per cent
- Basement conversion: 17 per cent
- Conservatory: 10 per cent
- Driveway: 9 per cent
- Wet room: 7 per cent
This shows that garden landscaping is the cheapest addition but brings you the most profit. A basement conversion is the most expensive but will only provide you with 17 per cent additional value.
If you’re considering any home renovations, landscaping your garden could be a great place to start!
