Recently my wife gave birth to our 5th and 6th children, identical boys. We’ve got a good size home, but as our children get older we will rapidly outgrow this house so we are considering selling. My concern is that all the time in my garden may go to waste if we are just going to sell the house anyway. Does it make sense to keep planning and growing a garden here? Does a vegetable garden increase my property value? Does it hurt it? I had to find out so I did a little digging.
So, does a vegetable garden increase property value? To the right buyer, a flourishing vegetable garden can add significant value to your home. However, vegetable gardens do require upkeep and regular maintenance and therefore may push some buyers away because vegetable gardens look like more work than a typical flower garden.
Gardening of all kinds is extremely popular and growing a vegetable garden is increasingly desirable. When it comes to selling your home you need to consider all things from the buyer’s perspective, including your garden. A beautiful and well-designed flower garden is often an immediately noticeable improvement to a yard, a vegetable garden is more difficult to value because vegetable gardens are not as aesthetically pleasing.
As I look to grow my garden this year, considering the option to sell later in the year, I should also plan to make a more aesthetically pleasing vegetable garden. I need to make sure that the garden has as much functionality as it also has beauty.
It’s also important to note that more and more home buyers are interested in being environmentally friendly and therefore vegetable gardens can be very pleasing.
Making your vegetable garden pleasing to buyers
To make your vegetable garden pleasing to a wider range of buyers be sure to keep your garden environmentally friendly, aesthetically pleasing, and well defined.
-One of the biggest benefits of a vegetable garden is how environmentally friendly a garden can be so it’s important to be environmentally conscious when planning the garden. One way you could do this is to use water conservation methods such as a well-designed rain collection system.
-Add technology to your garden to help control weeds and modernize the feel of your garden while also limiting buyers’ fears of a garden being more work.
-Define your garden space with proper fences and border to make clear boundaries where your garden begins and ends. It’s important for buyers to be able to distinctly recognize what is part of the garden and what is not. This allows buyers to separate the spaces in their minds as they think about the property.
-Give your garden variety to appeal to more buyers with colorful vegetables that will help the buyers see the produce and dream of their future garden.
-Add color to your vegetable garden with flowering plants like marigolds that not only improve the appearance of your garden but also protect against disease and insects. Buyers will appreciate the value of your vegetable garden if they can see the beauty as well as the functionality. Work hard on your garden now and it’ll bring the right buyers who take notice and are willing to pay a little more for that top-notch effort.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Will landscaping increase home value?
Absolutely. Landscaping is a big factor in what is commonly referred to as “curb appeal.” A well-landscaped property will not only bring a higher dollar value when selling your home, but it will bring the attention of more buyers and therefore will likely sell faster. Landscaping is the first thing most buyers see and notice about a property. The right landscaping can be inviting and tells a potential buyer that you’ve taken care of the property – if you care this much about the outside of the home, you’ll definitely care about the inside. Buyers tend to want “move-in” ready homes, and a poorly landscaped property is a warning sign that there are bigger problems with the property and many will simply walk away without even looking twice. In the US there is even a tax benefit to adding proper landscaping to a home before selling it. Expect a 5-15% increase in property value with a well-landscaped property.
Does hardscaping add value to your home?
Not all hardscaping projects are the same and many are not worth the investment. However, there are a few like outdoor lighting and outdoor living space that can add significant value to your property. If you have a vegetable garden, hardscapes like lighting and well-placed pavers can give the garden the finishing touches and detail that buyers are looking for to know that the garden has been well maintained and cared for.