How your garden can boost the chance of a great sale – John McGrath

Well-tended gardens can add significant value to a property and there are plenty of reasons for this. First and foremost, street appeal matters. Even in the active seller’s market that we’re currently experiencing, buyers still want a positive first impression of a home.

Gardens can also impress drive-by buyers who will see them before they enter your house, as will potential buyers who inspect the property.  If your outdoor areas are neglected, these buyers could easily assume the actual property may be neglected too. Hedges and shrubs can also add some attractive visual privacy to houses set close to busy roads or neighbours.

So, while statistics differ on how much extra value a well-maintained garden adds to a property, neat and tidy green spaces will attract extra buyers to your home, and increase your chances of a higher sale.

Buyers are also more willing to compromise on a home’s bedroom and bathroom numbers, than its green space. The REA Group’s 2025 Property Seeker Survey, released earlier this month, revealed the new buyer mindset is one of compromise or miss out (COMO). Buyers still want a lot of features in their new home. But they’re more willing to accept that they won’t get all of them, so they’ll compromise on some points so they can still buy a home.

The features that buyers will most often compromise on are the number of bedrooms (11%); solar or water-saving features (10%); walk-in wardrobes (9%); and the number of bathrooms (9%). In comparison, buyers are less willing to compromise on established gardens or landscaping (8%).

The good news is that non-gardener vendors can easily brighten up their gardens this Spring without spending a fortune - and hopefully, enjoy a better sale price as a result. You also might have some extra time right now to make a great first impression, with school holidays and an impending long weekend. Just remember that your local garden nursery is the best place to go to for advice and help.

Here are my top tips for such vendors this Spring:

• Gardens take consistent time and care, and a good budget, to establish and maintain. But a quick visit to your local nursery or garden warehouse can provide you with plenty of colourful pot plant flowers, which will give any space an instant, cheerful lift. You can take your new potted plants to your next home too.
  
  
• Many inexpensive spring flowers and herbs do nicely in pots and I’ve seen citrus trees, like lemons, growing in larger planters – all of which can be grown in Spring.
  
  
• Apartment and townhouse vendors can still add pot plants to their patios, balconies, and near their property’s main entries.
  
  
• Regularly mow and water your lawn and trim overgrown hedges and shrubs. Trees may also need to be trimmed but you should hire a professional for this job.
  
  

As many of us are time-poor, you may be surprised at how even a small garden or apartment patio can quickly become your special wellness space to enjoy.