These are the outdoor projects homeowners should invest in this spring
A home’s curb appeal matters, especially now.
The spring housing market is here, and homeowners thinking of listing their properties for sale are encountering lower demand now than in the last several years. Not as many buyers are out searching, mainly because rising mortgage interest rates and high prices have made homes less affordable.
In the hot market of recent years, buyers were more likely to overlook some of a home’s flaws, including outside features that needed work. But now, buyers have more negotiating power, and sellers need to make sure homes look their best.
Homeowners who don’t plan to sell soon can take on projects that will make them happier while they live in their home and also pay off in a future sale.
When Realtors tell home sellers to tackle outdoor projects before a sale, they most often recommend landscape maintenance, standard lawn care service, and tree care, according to a report released this month by the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
The nationwide report analyzes recommended projects and the costs homeowners can recover when they want to sell their properties. Costs depend on the design and scope of projects, quality of materials, and the location, age, and condition of homes.
Here are some of the projects with the greatest return on investment.
Standard lawn care service
Believe it or not, simple lawn care gives back the most money to homeowners when it’s time to sell. Homeowners can recover more than double the cost they put into maintaining their lawns.
The report analyzed costs based on six standard seasonal rounds of fertilizer and/or weed control on 5,000 square feet of lawn.
Landscape maintenance
Homeowners who stay on top of their landscaping can recover slightly more than their total costs.
The report looked at an example of maintenance that included annual mulching, mowing of more than 2,800 square feet of lawn, pruning shrubs, and planting about 60 perennials or annuals.
Outdoor kitchen
Homeowners can recover the total cost of building an outdoor kitchen.
New patio or deck
Homeowners can recover almost all their money — 95% — when they install a patio.
And property owners who install a new wood deck can recover 89% of their costs.
The report used an example of a sealed deck built with cedar lumber that is 14 feet deep and 18 feet wide and is attached to the house.
An example project is a backyard 18-by-16-foot patio made of concrete pavers and dry set over a compacted gravel and sand base.
Tree care
When it’s time to sell a home, owners can recover 87% of the money they spent caring for trees.
In calculating costs, the report looked at an example project that included three rounds of tree fertilizer; regular spraying, trimming, and pruning; and removing a 30-foot tree.
The report used an example outdoor kitchen with an inset grill, stainless steel drawers, ice chest, sink, and 60 square feet of concrete countertop made from veneered masonry stone.
