Real estate value (RE market, appraiser, investment, mortgage)

[titaniummd]

I just bought a few Palm trees and I was wondering if that type of money gets factored into the house cost. I was curious since I know of some people with 8-10 palm trees.

Do trees or other exterior items increase the value?

[Sunnydee]

I think trees add value to a home. I wouldn't even consider buying a home without mature trees.

[Rakin]

I always encourage my buyers to add good "Quality" trees to a home. Water & fertilizer helps them grow and they add beauty & resale value.

As a neighborhood ages, good trees make a huge difference.

[adlnc07]

I don't think you can put a dollar amount on it - if I buy a tree for X then the value of my house goes up by Y - it doesn't work that way. Trees will improve curb appeal and make your house stand out against similar properties. I just spent money on Zoysia sod for my front yard - I know it didn't increase the value of my house, but it sure will be easier to sell with a grass front yard instead of dirt & weeds!

More importantly, landscaping just makes a house more enjoyable to live in. I bought a house back in Virginia that was just a mess. The seller's husband had basically cut all the shrubs to the ground in the front of the house. The house needed a lot of work, but the first thing I did is hire a professional landscaper to do up a plan, and a Bradford pear tree and new shrubs brought in. I think it was $2-3K and the best money I ever spent on a house. I went from having the worst house on the block to one of the nicest. Three years later when I went to sell, the shrubs (wish I could remember what they were) had grown a lot, and I know the landscaping factored into my quick sale.

Enjoy those palm trees! :-)

[Rakin]

Bradford pear tree

IMO - There are much better trees to add value. A Bradford Pear usually only last about 8-10 years and has a tendancy to split at it's trunk in high winds.

Find good native trees for your area... here we do Red Oaks, Live Oaks (and other oaks), Cedar Elms and 2-3 other good trees. Your fast growing trees usually have short life spans & health problems.

I have 2 palms by my pool that are absolutley beautiful & really make the pool look tropical.

Hint: Think hard where you put your trees and plan ahead. Someday you may want to add a pool and don't put them to close to the house (they can cause problems)

There are trees that make a big mess like a pecan that you want to avoid.

[chet everett]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I just bought a few Palm trees and I was wondering if that type of money gets factored into the house cost. I was curious since I know of some people with 8-10 palm trees.

Do trees or other exterior items increase the value?

Trees and landscaping absolutely add value. More importantly they make the property ATTRACT buyers, "curb appeal" means just that -- from the street people want to COME IN AND SEE the place.

Your specific question is : "If I spent $10K on two trees is my house worth $10K more than the place with none?" Short answer: WHO KNOWS? Maybe the other place is a masterpiece inside and yours is not. The other question: "If some other guy added 8 trees and is in for almost $50K is his place worth that much more?" This is easier: Almost certianly NOT. The exception would be if the other lot is so much bigger that he NEEDED 4x the trees to give the entire property a similar 'look'...

Some buyers see anything that grows and they thing "oh crap that thing is going to need be waters and trimmed and fall down in a storm". Other people see a place drivng by and FALL IN LOVE with everything outside.

Too many variables. To appeal to MOST buyers try and do what MOST other homes in your price range are doing. DO NOT go totally overboard and expect others to pay for it, nor can you not spend a dime outside and expect "who ever buys it can do what THEY want". Trees take TIME to grow and MONEY to put in, few buyers like to spend more of either than they have to!

[Rakin]

It amazes me people don't do more to landscape their backyard. My neighbors see the front but it's my family that enjoys the back.

This really adds value.

[adlnc07]

Originally Posted by Rakin

IMO - There are much better trees to add value. A Bradford Pear usually only last about 8-10 years and has a tendancy to split at it's trunk in high winds.

lol.. I knew as I typed "Bradford pear" that someone would point out that they aren't good trees! It was actually wasn't a "Bradford" pear but a similar strain. Anyhow, I know the downsides but they are just one of my most favorite trees - dark shiny green leaves and beautiful flowers in spring. My old neighborhood in Virginia had them lining the median strip of the main road, and I just loved the way they look.

So yeah, eventually they might fall over on your car in a storm.. but it was a risk I was willing to take! I did keep it properly pruned though to minimize the risk. :-)

edit: I did some googling and looking at pictures - what I planted was actually a Cleveland Select or Chanticleer Pear. They are an improvement on the Bradford Pear and grow more upright.

Chanticleer pear

I am so going to plant one in the front yard of my new (to me) house!

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by titaniummd

I just bought a few Palm trees and I was wondering if that type of money gets factored into the house cost. I was curious since I know of some people with 8-10 palm trees.

Do trees or other exterior items increase the value?

Attractive landscaping will definitely increase value.
Curb appeal is extremely important.
"You never get a second chance to make a first impression."

Let's say that you spend $10,000 on landscaping, and it is a knockout.
Imagine that it adds $5,000 to the sales price of your house three years later when you sell.
Imagine that when you put your home on the market you get three times as many showings as the person with the humdrum appeal.
Imagine that you are under contract in 10 days, and closed in 6 weeks.
If it saves you 3 mortgage payments because your home has more marketable appeal, did you get your investment back?
I would say "Yes," without hesitation.

On top of that, you get to enjoy the landscape every day while you live there!

[DMenscha]

Long ago and far away an appraiser told me that he could give up to 15% of the value in the landscaping. Obviously most landscaping is not professionally installed or planned, but over the years that % has stuck with me and from time to time I can see what this appraiser was talking about.

In rural CA, we have to keep most landscaping to a minimum near the home to provide defensible space for wildfire protection.