When you feel ready to sell your home, you may need to take a look at what your potential buyers might see. Every home has its charm, of course, but it’s your job to make sure that others can see themselves in your space. One great area in which you can make improvements is in your backyard, which can have more of an impact on your home’s sale than you might imagine. What you need to concentrate on is figuring out what the best backyard upgrades are for your home.
The best backyard upgrades
There are many potential improvements to your yard, but most people have a very finite amount of money to spend on improvements before they move. As such, it’s best to concentrate on those improvements that are most likely to bring you a return on your investment. These improvements might allow you to up your listing price or to sell your home more quickly, but they all bring something to the table when potential buyers visit your home.
Landscape
Possibly the best improvement for those looking at a cost to benefit analysis, doing a bit of light landscaping can help you to bring a bit of extra value to your home. The cost will generally depend upon what you’re looking to improve and what you’re willing to spend, but you’d be amazed by what you can do yourself with a good pair of shears and a few trips down to the local plant nursery. Adding plants that provide the space with color and cleaning up old growth can work wonders on a yard that’s otherwise quite unimpressive.
You might not get much in terms of extra value out of your house here with these types of backyard upgrades. Instead, you’ll just be adding a bit of outdoor appeal. The value of your home might not go up on paper, but this might help you to encourage a faster sale. As such, there’s some solid value to be had even if there isn’t any change in your home’s numbers.
Value: B
Outdoor rooms
In terms of increasing your home’s value, this might be one of the single best backyard upgrades you can do. Adding an outdoor room to your home boosts the sales price by around twelve percent. Unfortunately, it’s also the improvement that will probably cost the most – at a minimum of twelve dollars per square foot, this might be the kind of project on which you will want to spend your tax refund.
When you build an outdoor room, you’re not just making your backyard look more impressive. You’re also helping potential buyers feel like you’re expanding the footprint of your home. These spaces make outdoor living much easier by connecting them to the interior of the house. If you’re able to focus on the potential that this kind of room can bring, the cost may very well be worth the returns you get.
Value: B+
Lighting
If you don’t want to deal with the pressure of building an entire outdoor room, it might be helpful to provide lighting that can improve your outdoor space. This doesn’t mean shining a spotlight on your backyard, but rather adding subtle lights that can help you to get more out of your space when the lights go down. This kind of solution is usually fairly wallet-friendly, but it can pay off in a similar way to landscaping your yard. It won’t necessarily drive up the price of your home, but it will help you to show off the additions you’ve made to your yard and help buyers to see the potential in the space.
Lighting comes in many forms, so look at your budget before making a choice. A great option is to invest in solar lighting, which helps to bring in the interest of the tech-friendly. Lights that won’t drive up the energy bills and that allow owners to make more use of existing space can be a fantastic way to make your yard seem like it has potential.
Value: C
Deck or patio
Can’t afford to put in a true outdoor room? No problem – you can do something very similar with a great deck or a patio. Depending on how your home sits and the size of your backyard, placing either can create a great outdoor living space and help future residents to see how they’d use your yard to entertain friends and family in the years to come. Consider this type of backyard upgrade when you’ve got a bit of extra money, but not necessarily when you’ve got other major renovations that need to be done inside.
A patio is almost always easier – and cheaper – to install than a deck. If you can afford a deck, though, you’ll likely get a slightly higher return on your investment. Both types of addition tend to attract potential buyers, though, and both do help you when it comes down to the selling price of your home. No matter which you choose, you’ll end up with one of the best values you can get from this backyard upgrade.
Value: A
Fencing
Fencing can be tricky. It often has to conform to the standards of an HOA and it certainly requires a fair bit up upkeep, but it’s a game-changer when it comes to selling a home. A fenced-in backyard feels more like an addition to a home, becoming a safe place for kids and animals to play while offering a bit of privacy to guests. This is hands-down one of the best values you’ll find when it comes to backyard upgrades.
A solid privacy fence is usually the ideal addition here. The cost is significantly lower than adding an outdoor living space, but it will help your home stand out in a neighborhood that might not have fenced in yards. A good fence is a sign that your home can be a sanctuary away from a busy world, one in which even the neighbors cannot intrude. If you have the ability to put up a fence in an unfenced yard, you should do so.
Value: A+
These five backyard upgrades are just some of the ways you can improve your yard. What’s important, though, is that you always find a way to make the most of the spaces you have on the budget that makes the most sense for you. If you can show potential buyers that your space can be useful, they’ll be much more likely to make an offer. When you’re ready to sell, make sure to contact CENTURY21 Northwest for your home evaluation.
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