How much value does a garden add ?

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Kelmar

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I am considering doing a major job of landscaping the front and back gardens of my house. Although there is no major structural work (mostly I just want to plant, trees, shrubs,flower beds etc..) the initial estimates I have been getting are very high and I am not sure it is worth investing money in this.

My question is;

How much value (if any!) would a well landscaped garden add to a house? I know its a very general question and I am sure it depends on 100 different things but I was wondering are there any general rules of thumb eg would it add 5%/10% to the overall value of a house?

Any help or advice would be appreciated!
 
I think this is a 'how-long-is-a-piece-of-string' question - a larger or nicer-than-usual garden could be worth a lot to some buyers (e.g. with young kids, or gardening-mad themselves), and almost nothing to another kind of buyer...

('though I've often wondered the same thing myself, because our own house is on a corner site and has a garden twice as big as the rest of the houses in the same small estate...)

Incidentally, if you're getting very high quotes, could I recommend a guy in Waterford (but usually willing to travel anywhere between there and the Pale)? Does excellent work, and is extremely competitive. The company is called Hedge & Tree services; his name is Odie and his mobile no. is 087-1302337.

Oh, and - declaration of interest - he's my brother-in-law. But that's not the only reason I'd recommend him! :D
 
Thanks Dr! He must be good - brother in laws are often the last people you'd recommend! (mine are anyway!)
 
The thing about adding value to your house by having a nice garden is a bit of a grey area. I love gardening and if I was buying a house I would have to have a reasonably large garden. But to tell you the truth I would nearly prefer to put my own stamp on it and would prefer an almost blank canvas. Others may be attracted to a nice readymade garden but will shirk from all the maintenace. Finally, there is the group who couldn't care less about a garden and would be quite happy to keep it in grass or pave the whole thing over. It's quite a personal thing, but I wouldn't be spending huge amounts on landscaping if it's just to add value and not to be enjoyed by oneself. You might never get back what you spent on it. Just my opinion!
 
Hi Kelmar,

From my extensive watching of Gardening programmes on BBC I seem to remember seeing that a well landscaped garden does indeed add value to a house but it doesn't add as much value as permanent changes / additions to a house.

For example:- You have a house worth €250,000 and have €10,000 to spend on "improvements". Ignoring the party poopers on AAM :p who would say you should pay it off your mortgage; if you spent the €10,000 on landscaping it would increase the value of the house by €7,000 or €10,000. However, if you spent the money on adding a conservatory, it could increase the value of your house by €15,000 or more.

All this needs to be caveated by saying that the value of your house is affected by location, condition, size, etc. etc. When I consider these things for my own house I pretend that both my neighbours and my house is for sale and if I added a conservatory how much more would I get in comparison to his. (All very scientific :eek: )

efm
 
I'd agree with that, if you can put on a conservatory you add 15k+ onto the value of the house (from what I have seen around Lucan). Or if you can convert the attic to a room you'd do the same thing. Gardens dont add a whole lot. But some decking would add maybe 5k to the value. A new kitchen would add a bit too but not as much.
 
I know from looking around and general opnion of others that having a large back or side garden does add money onto houses as it can always be used to extend the main house(providing you get the planning permission). My frined bought a 3 bed semi at the end of the estate about 7 years ago and she now has it converted into a 5 bed with a small back garden which is mostly decking&a small shed. Decking is one thing that i think adds to a house price. I viewed two houses in the same estate both semi detached and both nicely decorated and one had decking and some nice shrubbery but was 10K dearer. Wheni asked the estate agent he said it was because of the decking, shrubbery and small timber garden shed that it was more expensive. Hope this helps!
 
SteelBlue05 said:
Gardens dont add a whole lot. But some decking would add maybe 5k to the value.
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Completely disagree with this statement. I live in Glasnevin and a rule of thumb would suggest that a well appointed (south / west facing) landscape garden would carry a mark up of 10% at least over the north facing garden with nothing done to it.

Roy
 
When we sold our last house, the house itself was ok but the garden was much better than the neighbouring ones says he modestly and it did attract a lot more viewers tho hard to say if the price was noticeably higher in our case.
 
onekeano said:
Completely disagree with this statement. I live in Glasnevin and a rule of thumb would suggest that a well appointed (south / west facing) landscape garden would carry a mark up of 10% at least over the north facing garden with nothing done to it.

Roy
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I meant theres not much point spending 10k on a garden, you'll get better returns by spending it on other aspects of a house. I agree gardens that are sout facing etc are valuable.
 
Gardens (Like Kitchens) Sell Houses

Anybody who thinks that a good looking garden won't do much for the value of your house has got to be mistaken especially if the garden is South or West facing.

Dual career couples are seeing their gardens as an oasis from the stresses of modern living more and more and I would say it is a good idea to invest some time and money into your garden and looking on it as an extra room in the house as opposed to hard work beyond the back door.
 
Re: Gardens (Like Kitchens) Sell Houses

flusteredma said:
Anybody who thinks that a good looking garden won't do much for the value of your house has got to be mistaken especially if the garden is South or West facing.
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The point is you'll get better returns by investing say 10k on a conservatory over the garden. If the garden is say north facing,well doesnt matter how much you spend on it it will still be north facing. A south facing garden does add value to a house but the question discussed in the topic is "How much value (if any!) would a well landscaped garden add to a house?"

I think 10k spent on say a conservatory will add more value to a house over a landscaped garden.
 
re gardens.. If you are trying to sell your house, a well maintained garden will always be more likely to attract potential buyers than a jungle -imho, the value added effect is more of anindirect one rather than "oh ive a lovely garden - i think ill look for ten grand more" If your'e going to spend 10k i would spend it on refurbishment/extension of the house rather than the garden if your'e looking to add value. daithi
 
I'm a bit late to the party but here is my experience .... I sold a house in Blessington last summer and achieved a better price than a person 3 doors up whose USP was their "professionally landscaped garden". Word on the street was that it had cost £5,000 to do back in 2000.

The houses were 3 bed semis, south facing back gardens with a similar standard of decoration. Site size was same too.
 
A friend's brother spent €15,000 landscaping their garden, it was lovely but when it came to selling the house the auctioneer told them that the 'maintence' aspect of the garden was actually turning poeple off putting a bid on the house. They ended up lowing the asking price to sell the house.
 
There is no doubt, that a well laid out professionally done garden, does, add a great deal to a property, the prices being mentioned here seem a little steep though, my other half does this for a living, has done for over 30 yrs, in England though at the time, he use to do a lot of brick paved driveways, decking, and water features etc, most people have this work done because they enjoy a nice patio, water feature, etc, our old house sold in 2 weeks, where the house down the road took 6 months too sale, and we got a lot more for the asking price, I trully think that unless, a person is very confident at hard landscaping, it can end up costing more, always hire if you dont know what your doing, as we would a lekky man or plumber.
 
Personally I don't think a landscaped garden will add value to your house but I think it would make it more "sellable". I reckon it would sell quicker than a non-landscaped house.
 
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