Analysis: Can laying turf really increase your property’s value by $75,000?
New claims from the not-for-profit body Turf Australia had ears pricking up this morning. They believe that home buyers are prepared to pay up to $75,000 more for a home with a lawn and are urging savvy property owners to consider the addition to boost their profits.
Anthony Muscat, president of Turf Australia, recently released a statement saying that home buyers see that a lawn adds to the look and feel of a home, particularly for families who want a safe space for their children to run around in.
Turf Australia polled 114 real estate agents nationally between November 2011 and January 2012 to come up with the $75,000 figure.
The statistics provided to Property Observer by Turf Australia (note: these are the average added value to a property):
Victoria: $79,800 on a $420,000 home
New South Wales: $83,600 on a $440,000 home
Queensland: $48,600 on a $405,000 home
South Australia: $43,200 on a $360,000 home
Western Australia: $40,050 on a $445,000 home
National: $75,668 on a $420,375 home
They also found that house hunters want a lawn primarily as a safe playing area (73%), the look and feel of the property (34%), relaxation (32%) and increasing the re-sale value of the property (25%).
The report noted that 95% of buyers want real grass in their backyard, while for 80% of Australians a lawn needs to be at least 30% of their property's total size.
"A garden makeover is a cost-effective and quick way to increase the value of a home before sale. Laying a good quality lawn costs approximately $5-$12 per square metre, depending on the variety, compared to $23.22 per square metre for a bathroom renovation," said Muscat.
"A garden makeover including turf could also last a lot longer than an interior renovation, as it’s less likely to become dated and is cheap and easy to maintain. Most turf varieties have been adapted to suit the Australian climate and withstand extreme conditions. And it’s not as thirsty as most think, with watering costing as little as $3.19 per week during summer," Muscat said.
Turf Australia provided an example of one homeowner in Victoria’s north-East Melbourne suburb of Doreen. He is looking to spend $2,000 on turf for his four/five-bedroom, two-bathroom, two car garage house bought in September 2012 for $550,000. The expectation is a $20,000 to $30,000 increase in value. The ex-display home is only a couple of years old, and both the front and back gardens were covered in gravel when he moved in to the just-under 700 square metre block.
The equation that investors should "[insert task here] to add $[significant extra value]" is certainly part of the home improvement and renovating vernacular, however it's worth a real property-by-property consideration. Is he likely to receive a 10-fold return for turf?
Speaking to Monique Sasson from Wakelin Property Advisory, she argued that from her experience, qualitatively the opposite is true.
"You don't have to look too much further than the extraordinary heat and the upkeep associated with maintaining even a small lawn to know that, overwhelmingly, people are realising that drought-resistent, low-maintenance gardens are much more desirable in terms of the time and money associated with upkeep and the consumption of resources," she said."If we lived in a climate where rainfall was abundant and we didn't go through these periods of intense heat and didn't live in a country prone to drought conditions, particularly in the southern part of the country, then go for it and have some lawn. But I think in Victoria, and in any area of Australia prone to fire risk, drought and where consumption of water is a judicious and precious commodity, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense as it is quite impractical," she said.
"To suggest that spending $2,000 installing lawn can add this sort of value is a preposterous claim. They are welcome to their opinion, but I'd like to see the hard sales evidence and how the two are connected from a hard data point of view. Over 20 years of working in the property advisory industry I've yet to see that kind of claim born out.
"In fact, when people look at homes they look at high maintenance water dependant gardens, they often think it's too much hard work."
While Sasson said that irrigation systems can work to maintain beautiful gardens, she also said that huge bills can come into play. Turf Australia pointed to a cost from $3.19 per week minimum in the summer months.
Greville Pabst, CEO of WBP Property Group, who offer valuations as well as advisory, was also less than certain about the claims.
“I would expect the lawn to improve the appearance of the property, however, it is most unlikely to add the $20,000 to $30,000 expected by the owner. Installing turf would result in limited to no increase in the value of an established property if the remainder of the property required renovation or repairs," Pabst told Property Observer.
"Conversely, a new property without landscaping would benefit in increased value through some basic landscaping and improvement to external appeal, although investing $2,000 into landscaping is unlikely to add the increase estimated by the property owner," he said.
Having looked at the property in Doreen's online 'before' photos (address not disclosed by request), the addition of some turf would almost undoutably increase the appeal aesthetically; the greenery, with gravel and mulch, being the main front and backyard features, in addtion with concrete pavers. The home itself falls into Pabst's 'new property' category, looking fairly pristine inside. However, whether this translates into a $30,000 increase is up for debate.
Have your say on the poll below about general home values and turf.
{module How much will adding turf affect a home's value?}If you've had any experiences with this type of renovation, we'd be keen to hear your valuation experiences and how much you managed to profit.
