How your garden can add value to your home
How your garden can add value to your home
It’s May – our gardens are blooming. Plus with the RHS Chelsea Flower Show this month, we look at how your garden can add value to your home. We also share some interesting facts about gardens in UK properties. Find out more…
How does your garden grow?
It’s true – households in the UK are spending more on gardens, plants, and flowers than ever before.
– At £7.6 billion, expenditure in 2021 was up by over £1 billion on 2020, and up 39% on five years ago.
– Nearly 90% of UK homes have a garden. With plants and flowers adorning terraces and internal spaces also popular, it’s an easy way to make your home more appealing.
– The desire for outside space continues to feature highly in home buyer preferences and creating a home office in the garden is increasingly popular.
– Across England and Wales, it is estimated that 16% of gardens contain ponds and 54% have one or more trees taller than 3m.
– No Mow May is a national campaign encouraging those with lawns, verges, and grasslands to let them grow freely. Mowing less frequently encourages wildlife and boosts populations of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Source: Dataloft, Statista, C Simionato, Countryfile, ONS, WLGF.org
What’s driving the garden trend?
Well, we’ve seen a mixture of factors. Firstly, we’ve witnessed a growing increase in demand for garden space since the pandemic. It started with somewhere needed for outside socialising, but now homeowners are looking for garden buildings and structures. Whether it’s an office for homeworking, a bar to entertain guests, or a summer house for relaxing in. People want to make use of their outside garden space.
The pandemic helped us all to slow down and reconnect with nature. Especially during lockdown, we turned to our gardens to help improve our mental health and wellbeing. And with the growing focus on climate change, we have seen more and more people slip on gloves and get planting. From flowers to fruit and vegetables, gardens are popular and a thriving one with space potential can certainly help add value to your home.
Garden buildings growing in popularity
Here in Altrincham, since the pandemic, larger properties have been very popular with house buyers. We would say detached homes with ample garden space are those which generate the most interest. And they get snapped up pretty quickly. The reason for that is because people want more room to live – not just inside, but outside in the garden too.
And what are people doing with their garden space? Well, we are seeing more and more creative sanctuaries being built. From raised bed areas for growing vegetables, to swathes of colour with abundant blooms. There are beautiful patios with an array of lovely seating, canopies, even hot tubs.
But more than ever, people are using their additional space for extra buildings. They either build something new, or convert an existing outbuilding, for extra room for work or play. And it’s here where the investment pays off. Studies have shown that by having a garden building or a summerhouse, you could be looking at adding up to 5% to the value of your property. Not bad…
Garden tips for when selling your home
If you are thinking of selling your home, we highly recommend you take the time to get your garden looking the best it can be. While this won’t necessarily add value to your home per se – its size and any buildings or scope for further potential which are more likely to impact value.
However, showing a garden which has been well looked after can make the difference when it comes to any offers. Much like the inside of your home, the better your garden looks in the marketing pictures and on viewing day, the more likely you will attract interested buyers.
So, what should you focus on in the garden?
Garden presentation
Overall, you want the garden to look like it’s been cared for. It’s a good idea to mow the lawn so it looks neat and try to remove as many weeds as you can from it, likewise from the flower beds. If your bushes or hedgerows are looking overgrown, then cut them back.
Pay attention to any paths to the front and back of the house, make sure they are visible, with the edges clear and weeds removed.
And most importantly of all, take the time to repair anything that’s broken. Fence panels especially should be upright and intact, otherwise buyers can view them as a security risk.
The less cluttered and messy your garden is, the more prospective buyers can see the potential with it.
Showcase social space
Yes, home buyers want to be able to see where they can relax, dine, invite their extended family and friends. If you have tables and chairs tucked away, then get them out onto the patio or decking. Before you do, take a look at any patio tiles or pavestones, could they do with a clean? It’s amazing what a blast with a jet wash can do to get them looking like new again.
It helps to showcase the best areas of your garden for dining and relaxing. If the weather is nice, you can even put out the cushions and other accessories to help set the scene.
Plant pots and baskets
If you’ve never been green-fingered or your garden lacks lots of flowers, then opt for pots and baskets. You can pick up ready-made hanging baskets from most garden centres and nurseries, to save you too much effort. Such a simple, easy touch and can help to transform your property’s exterior, bringing a splash of colour to an otherwise dull space.
And of course, when the time comes to move, you can take your pots and baskets with you to make your new home look fabulous.
A lick of paint
Do you have woodwork such as decking or fence panels which are looking tired and worn? It’s amazing what a lick of paint can do for them. And there are some wonderful colours of exterior wood paint available in DIY stores and garden centres these days. Your time spent giving an old, tired-looking fencing a coat of colour can literally pay dividends when it comes to transforming your garden. It’s the difference between a potential buyer seeing a fence which needs replacing, to one which looks almost brand new.
Don’t forget the front of the house
We place a lot of focus on the private back garden and how good that looks. But we can sometimes neglect the front. It’s the front of the property that potential buyers will always see first! So, while you are sprucing up the back, make sure your front garden (if you have one) looks just as neat. A couple of hanging baskets, or pots either side of the front door or porch can really make a difference. We can’t stress enough the importance of first impressions when it comes to selling your home.
Are you thinking of selling your home in Altrincham or the surrounding area? Maybe you want advice on how to add value to your home for now. See our 5 Best Improvements to make to your home post for more ideas.
As an independent estate agent in Altrincham, we can help you whatever stage of property buying, selling, or letting you are at. Why not contact us for a discussion about your property or to arrange a FREE no-obligation property valuation today.