What premium does a garden bring?

For many buyers, outdoor space is increasingly desirable, with a garden seen as an extension of our living space. Size and aspect of the outdoor area are both important, with South and West facing gardens being particularly attractive. So why is a garden so important to us Brits? And, more importantly, how much more are we willing to pay to have access to one?

It is estimated around 90% of UK households have access to a garden with the average size being 14 square meters. On average, we spend about 114 hours every year doing gardening activity and evidence shows that, whether it’s growing vegetables, flowers or easy-to-maintain pot-plants, our open and greenspace is often associated with health and wellbeing.

In money terms, improving the garden space can be a straightforward DIY task and very often, adds more value to a property than a new kitchen, conservatory or an extension, at a fraction of the price.

So if you are you're planning to sell your home, is it worth spending the time and effort to get the garden in shape? The answer is 'yes' according to 62% of a recent survey of homebuyers who said that a garden is important to them, while 72% say they would pay more for a property with outdoor space. In fact, having access to outdoor space has become so important that, according to Zoopla, ‘Garden' was the second most popular search term for prospective purchasers across the UK in 2019, with other amenities such as ‘garage’ and ‘parking’ also among the top three. Also, a recent study by Dataloft suggests that the presence of a well-maintained garden may well add a premium of between 5% and 20% on a sales price. Real grass, sheds and outdoor seating areas are all popular features among home buyers.

If you want to spend the time and effort to get your garden in great shape ahead of your property sale, here are our suggestions for low cost, high impact projects that will help wow buyers.

If you have patio doors to the garden, providing the weather is favourable, just having them open during a viewing creates that indoor-outdoor feel that people are looking for. People see the garden as an extension of the living space and having a seamless transition between the two will help achieve this.
Keep lawns mowed, de-weed, clean patios and decks and remove unsightly bins, washing lines etc.
A simple water feature can create ambient background noise and create a sense of calm. It can also help disguise road traffic or other noise.
Adding outdoor furniture, a BBQ etc will show how functional the space can be.
Painting an old fence or wall can bring it back to life.
Add some outdoor cushions to the furniture to provide a little colour splash.
If you are willing to spend a little more, the addition of decking, paving or new fencing could make your property more desirable and add some privacy.
If paving or decking is too expensive then consider using stones or shingle to create separate areas of the garden and add interest