Top 5 Yard Upgrades To Increase Home Value?

There are plenty of research on the influence of cityincrease in value by 18%.
trees and open spaces on property values especially· Underdeveloped acreages with tree covering
in residential settings. With proper landscapehave a 22 % hike in property value.
improvements, the economic value of a home can be· Lots that sit on the hems of wooded preserves
increased immensely. This article focuses on thehave a market price increase of 19 to 35%.
hedonic valuation of city trees which would not only· Open land with a two-third forest cover have a
benefit developers and home buyers but also play aprice increase of 37%.
vital role in a city's revitalization project. Read on toIt can be noted that the cost of preserving trees is
know how natural capital such as trees and openmore than compensated by the higher sales price of
spaces can add value to a property, although intangiblythe property.
so.3. Proximity to parks and open spaces. The results of
The following are the top 5 landscape improvementsmore than 30 studies show that people prefer homes
to increase home value, based on the results ofthat are located close to parks and open spaces and
various studies on trees and residential propertyare willing to shell out more money for them. The value
values.of homes located in proximity to naturalistic parks and
1. Advantages of homes with trees. Single-familyopen space are typically about 8 to 20% more, and
homes with trees are generally preferred to thoseincrease with the proximity.
without. Homes with trees and those located in· Inner city homes located within a quarter mile of
neighborhoods with good tree cover have a highera park have a market price increase of 10%.
property value than homes without trees. The following· Homes that are 2 or 3 blocks from a
results are from a selection of studies done on yardheavily-used park have a market price increase of
and street trees.10%.
· Mature trees in your home's yard can increase· The value of homes located near cleaned-up
the value of your property by 2%.vacant lots increases by 10%.
· Having trees in the front yard can augment a· Homes that are adjacent to a park area or with
property's value by 3 to 5%.a view of it have a value increase of 20%.
· Neighborhoods that boast of a good tree cover· Greenbelts located next to residential
can increase a home's value by 6 to 9%.developments augment property value by 32%.
· Homes located in high-income neighborhoods4. Forest View. Homes that have a view of the
that grow mature trees can increment in value by 10forests and parks have better market value due to
to 15%.the aesthetic element. According to some studies the
2. Benefits of preserving trees on lots. Retaining treesvalue increase to homes that have a view of forested
and forest cover while developing residential sites canopen space and parks range from 5% to 8%.
boost market value. Tree preservation in untreed lots5. Commercial properties. Non-residential sites have
has added value to the property in the range of 18 toalso known to benefit from trees in terms of better
37%, depending on the extent of tree cover. Besidesrental rates at commercial offices that have a good
this advantage, homes on wooded lots are known togreen view and increased consumer spending in
sell faster. The following is the result of studies madeforested business districts.
on market prices of treed and untreed lots.Source: Arborist News, Kathleen L. Wolf (Aug 2007).
· Lots with a substantial cover of mature trees