Climbing in value! How wisteria can add £10,000 to price of your home
And from olive trees to outdoor rooms, there are plenty of other garden tweaks that’ll pay back far more than they cost
THE sun has finally arrived with gardens now coming into full spring bloom. Here’s why investing time and money into your outside space could add thousands to a property if you’re looking to sell.
Wisteria hysteria Cost: £100-plus Added value: £10,000
Watch Instagrammers swarm to take pictures for social media outside properties dripping with the distinctive lilac, pink or violet blooms of wisteria, and you can see what a draw the climbing perennial is.
If you’re selling a home with wisteria adorning the facade or in the garden, you’re more likely to get viewings, according to Philip Mount, branch manager at Churchill Estates agency in South Woodford, East London. He says: ‘It has a timeless appeal of a traditional English cottage that should get people knocking on your front door.’
Philip believes wisteria could be equivalent to the difference of a brickfronted home compared with one with pebble dash – which he says can be around £10,000.
The dash of climbing colour provides a luxury exterior sheen but it needs maintenance. Guy Barter, chief horticultural adviser for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), says: ‘Wisteria is easy to plant but you need to train it carefully up and along walls. A ladder may be required to keep it looking neat and trim.’
Wisteria can grow up to 10ft a year, but Martyn Cox, gardening columnist for The Mail on Sunday, says it can take up to two decades for a seed to mature and flower.
For this reason he advises to avoid buying a small plant in a four-inch pot and instead buy a more mature specimen, already in flower, that will soon establish across a wall. For a 5ft wisteria expect to pay £100 or more.
Easy-on-the-eye garden Cost: Free – up to £10,000 Added value: £50,000
Research by online estate agent Sold.co.uk, reveals that a well-kept garden can add up to 20 per cent to a property value and with the average house price at £285,000, you might expect to add in the region of £50,000.
Martyn Cox says: ‘If you view a property with a well-designed, easy-on-the-eye garden with geometric shapes, borders and beds, then you are more likely to buy it than one you’ve viewed with a scruffy garden that needs clearing and weeding.’
Although you can spend thousands paying for a professional landscaper to design the garden of your dreams – and look after it – if you do some homework and are not afraid of hard work, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) can provide inspiration and guidance on its website.
Cox adds: ‘Certain plants look expensive, such as magnolia in full flower in spring, and camellia – which are a real feast for the eyes.’
For added luxury in city gardens he suggests pleached trees (that look like hedges on stilts), plus clipped trees such as box and bay, if you want to create a formal, immaculate space.
Water features, such as a rill (small water channel) can also add value – as does outdoor lighting if placed subtly around the garden.
‘When you view a property and see all these expensive features in place, it’s one less thing you have to spend money and time doing so you expect to see it reflected in the asking price,’ Cox adds. According to Sold.co.uk, a professionally designed and planted garden could cost £10,000.
Olive tree and lavender Cost: £200 Added value: Priceless
If you’re looking to sell your home in a hurry, the instant fix is kerb appeal. This adds sophistication to the front of your property so makes it pleasing to the eye – and nose of potential viewers. Guy Barter, of the RHS, says: ‘The front of the house is the showpiece that provides that first impression. Potted trees, such an olive, and conifers such as juniper add value because they are seen as aspirational statement pieces.’
Outdoor rooms Cost: £500 – £15,000 Added value: £12,000
Outdoor rooms relating to the garden have huge appeal – from the humble garden shed to the greenhouse and even a glasshouse for growing apricots and peaches.
Estate agent Parkers says such outbuildings can add £12,000 to a home’s value. If you have the space, 8ft by 6ft is a good minimum size. Guy Barter says: ‘Aluminium is the material of choice for most greenhouses – as it does not rust or need much upkeep.’
Martyn Cox says outdoor kitchens are popular additions, increasing the space to entertain.
According to the tradesman finding website Checkatrade, the average cost is £20,000. The reason for this relatively high price is that work surfaces and oven areas must be built to withstand temperature changes and weather.
They typically include not only a grill with oven but plumbing for a sink, plus kitchen units and shelving. Many include a fridge and pizza oven. According to loans company ABC Finance, such a build can add 5 per cent to the value of your home.
Kitchen garden Cost: £200 Added value: £1,500
Homegrown herbs, fruit and vegetables in a kitchen garden aren’t just the preserve of luxury hotels. According to the National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners you can spend £200 a year growing fruit and vegetable that would cost £1,500 in the shops. Show buyers there is an established kitchen garden and you broaden the appeal of the property.
The value of your garden is increased if you work to its strengths, says Martyn Cox.
With a rural idyll, you might want to create a wild flower meadow or add a natural swimming pond to increase the feeling of being at one with nature.
The RHS offers advice on growing fruit and veg on its website.