Here Are the Hottest Outdoor Features
It’s been quite the year for real estate agents, with fairly large factors affecting every housing market in addition to all of the hyper-local influences in home preference. Most areas in Mesa County have seen an increased focus on outdoor spaces associated with the homes. After all, spending time socializing indoors has been curtailed by many households to protect from the COVID-19 virus. Outdoor features have become key for socializing, enjoying family life, and simply getting some variety from one’s indoor surroundings. If you’re considering selling your home this year, buyers are likely to be looking for a variety of outdoor features.
Homebuyers Look for Experiences
Homebuyers look at the outdoor space as you’ve staged it on your property and want to visualize their life there. Setting up a permanent fire pit and placing some comfortable patio furniture around it can be helpful to creating an ambiance that shows how easy and fun it is to enjoy the backyard.
Similarly, you might consider adding an outdoor kitchen that showcases the options for outdoor cooking and dining. Having people over is safer and more socially distanced when there isn’t a lot of time spent indoors, and the outdoor kitchen set up expands on traditionally grilling out to make the whole experience outdoors. Help your homebuyers see themselves plating a delicious meal for friends right there in their outdoor kitchen.
Homebuyers Look for Convenience
Making the most of your outdoor space is another value-add. Screening in or covering a porch entirely is often too much of an investment just to sell the home unless you get the chance to really use the space yourself. However, a retractable or permanent awning can be one way to make your smaller or very sunny outdoor area stand out, since these options give shade and comfort without adding a major price tag right before you list your location. Small features that make your property more convenient to use may not be high-dollar additions, but they can make your home stick in their minds as a home with excellent outdoor features.
Many buyers here also own recreational vehicles (RV’s), so having a place to park them at home when not in use is especially desirable to them. If you have the space – and your HOA allows it – consider converting one side of your lot into an RV parking space. Grade the area and fill it with gravel, stone or even poured concrete to make it easier to park and store a camper.
Homebuyers Look for Privacy
More so this year than in other years, people are valuing their privacy, whether that means a beautiful privacy hedge that allows them to enjoy their backyard despite being close to neighboring homes, or a privacy fence that is also sturdy enough to keep an active puppy from running all over the area. If your home already has a partial fence or some under-maintained hedges, consider getting both into ship-shape and finishing up fencing. A complete fence is seen as a valuable option for dog owners in particular but is desirable for many different shoppers. Anything that makes their potential backyard into an oasis just for them is a good addition.
Remember that adding outdoor features to your home should build on the strengths that are already there, so top real estate agents would advise you not to undervalue what a great landscaper can do to give your existing look a facelift for spring or summer.
Guest blog courtesy of Homelight
Photo by David Hunter on Unsplash