There are many different factors that affect the value of a property. Each of these has become even more volatile and influential since the global property market has taken a slump.
A single flaw can drive down the value of a residential/commercial property sharply. In a buoyant market these individual flaws would not have as much of an effect; however in today’s environment they can be critical. This post will look specifically at how the gardens and grounds of a building can positively or negatively affect the sale value of a property.
One of the biggest, though incorrect, assumptions about outer grounds and property value is that more features help to push up the price. Actually, the opposite is quite often true. Buyers frequently like to buy into property that is fairly neutral and impersonalised. This is because people like to go through the ritual of making the property their own.
Personalisation is a big part of property ownership,; so try and pitch a property to buyers that they can easily amend to their tastes. What looks attractive to you will almost certainly be unattractive to some other prospective buyers. If you keep things neutral, the property is more open and appealing to the entire market. In this climate you cannot afford to exclude potential buyers, since sales are few and far between.
Image courtesy of saota.com
Quick tips to keep your property grounds neutral and saleable:
• Keep lawns neat and simple; don’t go for “visually noisy” layouts. This means keeping lawn decorations to a minimum. Some people like to have decorative ornaments and features on and around their lawn. When trying to sell a property, it’s best to keep things neat and simple; this allows buyers to focus on the space you’re giving them (rather than your personal objects in it).
• If you are to populate your garden with objects, try and keep to functional items such as seating, tables and storage areas. You don’t want to offer a completely empty space, but neither do you want to offer something that is cluttered and over-personalised.
• Go for light pastel colours when designing (or renovating) your garden and outdoor spaces. This will help create a neutral effect and allow buyers to easily visualise their own personalization of the space. The aim is to easily let buyers imagine themselves using the property. Therefore you should do everything you can to make it look like a complete package and an empty canvas at the same time (which is tough to do).
Another thing to consider is the level of maintenance a prospective buyer will have to put into the garden. It’s all very well having a pristine and highly polished garden, but it can actually be off-putting if the buyer doesn’t want to put in the effort to keep it that way. Essentially, you are presenting them with a load of heavy work attached to the house. It is possible for an average, low-maintenance garden to be more appealing to the mass market than a beautiful ornamental garden. A case study featured here showed just this phenomenon in action.
Image courtesy of greenearthscape2000.com
Overall, the main points to consider are:
• Can your buyer see themselves using the garden as it currently stands?
• Can they handle the amount of work that comes with maintaining the garden?
• Does it fit in with their needs (i.e. family garden, retirement garden etc)?
• Does your garden add value, have a neutral impact or detract from the property’s value?
Hopefully this post has been able to probe your thoughts on how external grounds can affect the value and saleability of a property. It is something that is often given less attention than it should. Don’t let your property be let down by the garden; it’s just as important as the interior decor.
Cover image courtesy of ultimategreenscapes.com.
Author bio:
Peter McAllister is a garden and outdoor enthusiast who works for SGM, a global supplier of commercial and domestic outdoor equipment. You can add him to your Google+ circles: +Peter McAllister.