What’s The Payback On Your Landscaping?

While everyone enjoys their outdoor surroundings amid beautiful landscaping, too many view landscaping as an expense. Actually, beautiful landscaping is an investment, a very valuable investment.According to the Gallup polling people, beautiful landscaping can add between seven and 15 percent to the value of your home. This translates to a payback of 100 to 200 percent when you sell your home, according to Money Magazine.Smart Money magazine expands on the previous statistics by reporting that you can boost the resale value of your home by 15 percent, earning back 150 percent or more by spending just five percent of the home value on a high quality, low-maintenance landscape.Money went on to compare landscaping’s payback to other remodeling projects. A remodeled kitchen adds 75 to 125 percent; a bathroom 20 to 120 percent; and a swimming pool 20 to 50 percent.The American Public Power Association notes that landscaping can shade windows and walls, reducing air conditioning costs by up to 50 percent. Trees can reduce temperatures by as much as 9ºF according to American Forests.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that trees can reduce traffic noise by up to 50 percent.I hope you are as surprised as me at these figures. I had heard them all here and there before but had never seen them on a single page. However, a recent issue of Design/Build magazine gathered all of this information and published it on a single page. Very impressive, indeed.If you weren’t planning on any landscape updates or renovations this season, I hope this information will help you rethink the situation.