Does Lawn Care Affect Your Property Value?

You care about your home. This is true. I can make that assumption because you’re reading this blog post on a lawn care blog. Whether you’re looking to increase your property value in order to sell your home and pique interest in buyers or you’re simply looking to upgrade your dwelling for a higher standard of living, this article will be of value.

There are a certain number of obvious things that will wreck your real estate value: noisy neighbors, tacky billboards, bad schools, etc. What can you do then to, instead of detract from your property value, actually positively increase it?

Whether your property is in Fairfax, Virginia, or Austin, Texas, having a well-maintained lawn will benefit your real estate value, according to the real estate experts with which I spoke.

How Lawn Care Affects Property Value

Proper lawn care creates impact where it counts: the first impressions. A beautiful lawn will set expectations for the rest of the home, it will differentiate your home from other homes of equal perceived value, and it could very likely add dollar value to your home.

A well-manicured exterior could also add dollar value to your home and increase its overall value by as much as 15 to 20%, 

First Impressions

First impressions are everything. In business networking, branding, dating, and otherwise, your first few seconds of the interaction crown the rest of the relationship with that tone. You should strive to make it a good one.

This is no different with lawn care, says Bunni Longwell with Keller Williams Realty, in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The first appearance is the best,” she says.

When potential buyers are comparing dozens of homes, it’s crucial to give them a reason to take yours more seriously. Since the first part of your property they step on will be your lawn, it’s important that it is well maintained.

Setting Expectations

On the same note, a first impression sets a certain expectation for everything else. Psychologists call this the halo effect, which means that one characteristic can influence people’s opinions of everything else related to that entity.

In effect, a first impression can act as a promise for what’s to come.

“A well maintained home gives the impression that the entire home is maintained,” says Maryjo Shockley of Keller Williams Realty, in Wellington, Florida.

How does that translate into value for the buyer? It means less money will come out of the buyer’s pocket for repairs upon moving in, Shockley says.

“First impressions are the most important, and a home’s exterior maintenance tells the potential buyer that the interior is well maintained as well,” she says.

Good to Great

Appearances form impressions, and impressions form everything else. So how can you affect the appearance of your property? A solid technique is to think about investing in quality lawn care.

“A nicely cut lawn looks a lot better than one that has weeds and is overgrown,” says Lakeisha W. Johnson with Absolute Property Solutions, LLC. “A lawn that has been cut and properly edged up looks even better.”

A better managed lawn can be the crucial differentiating factor in adding value to your home, Shockley says. It can bring your from good to great.

“The real estate market is determined by what a buyer is willing to pay for a home,” she says. “A well maintained home may bring in a higher dollar if the buyer is comparing the home to one of equal perceived value but appears to not be maintained.”

Well-Maintained Lawns and Real Estate Value

In summary, we’ve learned that first impressions matter, and that your lawn can provide a wonderful or a poor introduction to the rest of your property. But the real question is: Does a well-maintained lawn help sell a home? “Absolutely!” a resounding chorus of real estate experts would shout.

Though it is uncertain whether a great lawn adds dollar value onto a home — some say it does, some question that notion — a great lawn certainly adds curb appeal.

When comparing two homes of equal value, the one with the better lawn will open up a buyer to considering the home.

“My experience has taught me that there is a direct correlation to landscaping and value,” says Adam Walden of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. “As the home values rise, the expectations of landscaping go along with it.

“While I don’t believe it has a MAJOR effect on the homes value, it does provide extra allure,” he says. “There may be a difference of $5,000 between Home A and Home B, but because Home A has great landscaping that has been maintained, it has become the ‘nicer’ prospect.”

Do you have any tips or tricks for increasing the curb value of your home? We’d love to hear from you! Just comment below.

Want your lawn to wow would-be buyers? LawnStarter lets you schedule local lawn service online in minutes.

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Alex Birkett

Alex Birkett is marketer and writer. Aside from mowing lawns, he loves snowboarding, eating sushi, and lifting heavy weights. He moved to Austin, TX after graduating from the University of Wisconsin.