Outdoor living Spaces and ROI (Return on Investment)

Up until a few years ago it was pretty common knowledge that some of the best areas of your home to renovate and be confident of a good return on the work when you sold was to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms in particular.  However, with the proliferation of HGTV Reno shows, emerging decorating trends, as well as different buyer segment preferences in home features this is changing. Now a modern up to date kitchen can be ‘dated’ in 5 years with the constant changes in styles and products! Of course you can still enjoy your space if you are not moving but the challenge is when selling because many buyers now look for and want recent trends as part of their purchase or will budget to have the work done on a property when they buy affecting pricing.

What has changed is where many are spending money on homes and which items have the largest value retention. The new growing trends are towards not just interior updates and upgrades but towards   outdoor living spaces, creative backyards, elaborate and interesting decks and patio areas, low maintenance landscaping and super organized garages that are realizing higher ROI than conventional kitchens and baths e.g.. There is so much attention now given to outdoor living spaces that it has become a booming business unto itself with numerous appealing products including a vast array of designs, garden furniture, materials, garage design kits etc..

This fact was driven home this week by the presentation at the Home & Garden show by TV personality and landscape specialist Carson Arthur who gave a very informative overview on this subject.  I attended that presentation and have summarized some of the key elements of the presentation in this article.

Below are the areas that give the highest Return on investment (ROI) for a home when selling.

Front door.  Best ROI The front door is often an indicator of a home’s condition & quality and sets the tone eliciting positive or negative impressions and attitudes to a home. So if the front door is very appealing & leaves a strong impression a buyer will likely want to see more of the inside.   8% of value of a home purchase is based on a buyer’s reaction to a front door according to research! Quality and style means a lot here.

Curb appeal

People will drive by a listing if there is not enough strong curb appeal. Choose colours that blend with surroundings so yours blends into neighbourhood, particularly in the city where homes are easily compared to neighbours hoes. Don’t be the odd color house on the street everyone refers to. Tidy, appealing, creative walkways and entry areas and landscaping that draw you towards the front door and make you want to enter this property are key. Cluttered vegetation blocking entry ways should be opened e.g.

Useable space – Decks & Patios can be an outside extension of indoor space. So when a home is on the smaller size these improvements and additions can increase home value by 10 to 12%  In fact a new deck has higher ROI that kitchen at about  81% Cedar has triples in price so the wood of choice now for decks is brown pressure treated wood.

Storage and ROI on a garage is 65%

The trend is now converting garages into super organized spaces. It is estimated that 70% of Canadians can’t park in their garages!!  So if yours is organized and appealing it will stand out when selling. The garage has become almost another extended living space rather than just a place to park or putt stuff in un unorganized fashion. Things to consider

Make sure floor is Empty, Customize you garage. Make a golf station, add lighting Install locatable storage, work areas, benches and custom storage racks and areas for equipment, hobby items, and bikes etc, so all is either hanging or has a place. Clean floors, heated

So which buyer groups most desire these outdoor spaces in their homes are what are their buying habits, trends and preferences in home features. Who wants what? There are basically 3 buying groups in the market these days

Millennials

20! To 30’s

They are Tech savvy, First time buyers, they are looking for curb appeal, Take selfies of themselves at a home or in front of garden design displays and generally they don’t care about decks or patios as they want to grow vegetables!

Generation X

40 to 50 year old’s that have an Investment focus. The backyard of their home is an escape area space so very important to them. They now prefer to spend down time in their backyard rather than go to an out of town or out of province retreat area given increased cost of living and family pressures with kids and local activities.

Boomers

60 something’s who primarily desire bungalow style homes or villas and who are focused on retirement funds and are big investors in outdoor rooms as an extension of their homes for entertaining and relaxation as they spend more time at home.

So the bottom line is that every home renovation decision impacts on future value returns so try not to spend dollars just on the interior of your home but also on the emerging trends towards outdoor spaces as an extension of your home as well as creative and organized storage areas, garages etc.

This discussion applies to both acreages and city properties although city properties with their smaller lot areas can be more critical relative to outdoor space design.

Another point worth mentioning that was highlighted in this presentation is the big trend away from water features in yards and outdoor spaces. Fountains, decorator ponds etc. are not in demand as much and new outdoor designs seldom are including them?  People have less desire to maintain them particularly in our climate with its short summer season.

So just some information to ponder. Maybe worth visiting the web site of Carson Arthur for further reading and insights into trends.

© 2017 by Wayne Chaulk