Most home sellers engage in some kind of quick outdoor tidy-up prior to selling their home. Pulling the weeds and mowing the lawn isn’t a bad thing, and it will certainly make your home look more presentable and drive up curb appeal. It probably won’t increase its value, though.

A surefire way to add value to your home is through landscaping. Whether professional or DIY, Aussies love an outdoors lifestyle. A beautiful garden, outdoor entertaining area, or patio goes a long way to securing the optimal selling price.

We’re big advocates for not just landscaping for the sake of selling, but for the sake of living! Why should the new owner have a beautifully landscaped garden and not you? We suggest doing it up while you’re still living in it so you can enjoy it and then benefit from the profits when it comes time to sell. It might be in one year or 10 years, but you’ll benefit nonetheless.

Don’t just take our word for it.

From a real estate agent.

Kim McQueen of McQueen Real Estate (in Victoria), has been selling high-end properties for decades. She says that, no matter whether it’s a rural or suburban home, a nicely landscaped outdoor area can literally add hundreds of thousands of dollars to a sale price. She also says Australians are beginning to value beautiful interiors as much as stunning gardens — a reflection of a culture that loves the outdoors.

From pop culture.

We’ve also seen evidence of this on the popular TV show ‘The Block’. Where once the focus was almost entirely on the actual house, in 2022 contestants were given massive outdoor spaces to play with. To complete their landscaping projects, they were handed a budget of almost $100,000 — yes, just for the landscaping! This also reflects our desire to be immersed in relaxing outdoor spaces.

From a landscaper.

Jayden Webber of Webber Landscapes (Victoria) shared that landscapes that seamlessly blend indoor-outdoor living are becoming more popular. In his experience, outdoor entertaining areas are a huge drawcard when it comes to selling a home, as long as they’re done in the right way.

“Outdoor entertaining areas will add the most value as long as all the components of that area integrate well together.” 

Where to start.

We always suggest thinking of outdoor spaces as “rooms”, each with its own purpose. Your lawn might be one “room”, another might be the patio or fire pit, and another might be a play area for the kids. Sectioning your outdoor space like this helps you prioritise what you want to achieve from your garden. Landscaping can be a huge and overwhelming task, so thinking of your space in this way also makes it mentally easier because you can tackle one “room” at a time.

At the end of the day, you’re just creating a wider living space for yourself and future dwellers who’ll eventually call the space you create “home”.

Top tips.

• Ask yourself, “what functionality do I need from my outdoor space?”. A BBQ? Pool? Somewhere to read a good book? You might also consider decking, a fire pit, outdoor lounge area, expansive garden beds or a veggie patch, grassed space, and a cubby in a dedicated kids zone.

• Large, established trees that offer privacy and shade certainly bring the wow-factor, but it’s more affordable to plant young trees. Transplanting mature trees is expensive, and there’s no guarantee they’ll take to their new location.

• The most expensive aspects of landscaping are labour-intensive works that require heavy machinery. This includes excavation, using heavy-duty materials like steel and concrete, pool works, ground levelling, and split-levelling. The price will also be higher if your property requires plans, permits, road closure, or engineering drawings. If you can avoid any of those elements, you should.

• Remember that when you sell, your home will be up for a property inspection. On top of that, potential buyers will scrutinise workmanship inside and outside the house. Investing in a quality tradesperson from the start is key to avoiding any upsets here. Make sure you choose a registered landscaper, and always ask to see a portfolio of past projects before you engage them.

Expensive, but worth it.

We can’t comment specifically on how expensive landscaping will be, because it all depends on how big your block is, what you intend for it, and who you engage to do it. Even the suburb you live in can influence the price.

We do know, however, that good landscaping usually involves designers, architects, and professional landscapers to bring it to life. If you know what you’re doing, you can certainly tackle it yourself. Either way, it’ll cost you, but we believe it’s worth every dollar. In a way, you can’t lose because you’ll have created a beautiful outdoor environment.