BY LINDSEY GETZ

As a Realtor®, you already know first impressions are everything. Research has shown a first impression is made within seven seconds of meeting someone—and it’s not much different when taking potential buyers to see a home. Curb appeal is critical and because of that, landscaping has been known to have a significant impact on both home value and time on the market. Whether you have a seller listing their home now or in the future, it can pay to improve the landscaping.

“In today’s world buyers are developing their ‘opinion’ of a house online before they ever see it in person,” said Adam D’Annunzio, Realtor®, Keller Williams Realty Jersey Shore. “When they arrive to see the house in person the buyer is just confirming if their opinion they developed from the online listing is true or not. In other words, does what they saw online accurately portray what they are now seeing in person?”

This is why it’s important sellers don’t allow landscaping to lapse. It’s important to keep up with ongoing tasks while the house is on the market.

“One of the biggest landscaping mistakes that sellers can make is to allow the shrubs to get overgrown,” said Mark Borst, president of Borst Landscape and Design in Allendale. “Overgrown shrubs are going to hide the home or make a patio look smaller than its actual size. It’s also a messy look that conveys the house probably wasn’t that well-cared for, even if it was.”

D’Annunzio agreed the condition of the exterior absolutely creates an expectation of the interior—good or bad.

“Landscaping is one of the first opportunities to confirm a buyer’s positive opinion of your home,” said D’Annunzio. “Well-manicured landscaping is a great way to show buyers that a home has been well cared for. On the other hand, if the front lawn and landscaping is overgrown and not maintained, it can lead buyers to question what else has not been maintained.”

When it comes to making landscaping changes or additions, Borst said to focus on projects that will deliver wow factor.

“Something as simple as adding some colorful flowers around the front of the home can really make a front yard pop,” said Borst. “You can just do some simple container gardens—it doesn’t have to be anything crazy. And you can even take those containers with you when you move—it’s more about staging the look.”

Borst said it can also be important to make repairs to outdated hardscaping.

“If you have an old patio that is sinking in and causing a trip hazard, investing a few thousand into lifting it up, redoing the base, and putting the same stone back down could likely equate to more in resale value,” said Borst. “A sinking patio could be a dealbreaker for a buyer because it seems like a big project to fix. But having a landscaper re-do it is relatively straightforward and could really pay off.”

Borst said just like the interior, many homeowners are looking for a movein ready exterior. They don’t want to have to do a lot of work as soon as they move in so, anything sellers can do to enhance the landscaping is going to contribute to the home’s appeal.

As far as larger projects are concerned, there’s no question more buyers are looking for outdoor living spaces than ever before. Having a patio area can make a huge difference—particularly in cookiecutter neighborhoods where more than one home is for sale.

“The number one thing that people desire with their home today is a functional, relaxing, outdoor living space,” said Nick Nykorczuk, owner of Creative Pavers, Inc., in Gibbstown. “Having a well-designed patio or maintenance-free deck is a great way to create additional areas to relax, dine, and entertain. People enjoy connecting with nature and the desire to use the living space year-round leads them to place a high value on features such as firepits and outdoor heating systems to extend the use into the cooler seasons and during the warmer months having a covered shade structure over the lounge seats allows people to be outside even on the hottest days.” it so that the finished project doesn’t lock the next person into a rigorous maintenance plan going forward or that could work against your effort to get the highest value possible for a property,” said Nykorczuk.

Borst added it comes back to that idea of being move-in ready.

“Anything that you can do to take away that feeling that the new buyer will have a bunch of projects to do after they move in is a plus,” said Borst. “Think of it as getting rid of the clutter. Clean up the shrubs and remove anything that has died. And fix anything that is going to be a big turnoff.”

On the flip side, Nykorczuk said buyers don’t want to see anything that appears like it will require extensive maintenance. He said low-maintenance landscapes are trending. While an extensive vegetable garden or many mulch beds with ornamental plantings might initially look appealing, they can also be a negative in the minds of some buyers.

Ultimately, a landscape goal should be a property that appears low maintenance.

“So whenever planning something with the focus on resale, you have to make

D’Annunzio said as simple as the landscaping might seem, it is definitely a significant contributor in making the sale.

“The more reasons you can give a buyer to support their positive opinion on the house the more they’re likely to offer, because a home is an emotional decision at the end of the day,” said D’Annunzio. “On the contrary, if a buyer pulls up to your home and it looks like a disaster outside it probably doesn’t matter how nice the inside is because the buyer’s initial opinion has already changed. They’ve already made their mind up that it’s not for them.”