How to Increase Home Value with Trees
The value of trees in urban areas has been covered extensively. Benefits of trees near our homes include reduced flooding, providing wildlife habitat, improved aesthetics and cooling of surrounding areas. Because of these benefits, trees generally increase the value of the property on which they sit.
While simply having trees on your property may increase its value, HOW can you plant new trees and take advantage of existing ones to get the most out of your property?
Keep What You Have and Plant What You Want
There are two main ways in which you can increase your home’s value with trees – preserving and maintaining trees already on the property and strategic planting of new trees.
Preserve and Maintain Existing Trees
Buying a property with large, healthy trees is obviously the easiest way to get the benefits of such trees around your home. Larger, older trees provide exponentially more value than small trees (US Forest Service). But when you have trees already on your property, there are several things you need to do to maximize their benefit.
Preserve Trees During Construction
If you are building a new home on a wooded lot, there are several steps you can take to preserve trees during construction. The most important step is to keep all construction activities (not just the final structure) as far from root systems of existing trees as possible. The most common advice is to keep from cutting or damaging all roots within 1 foot of the base of the tree for each inch of tree diameter (Purdue University). Sensitive trees will require greater protection. Proper fencing and crown pruning are also critical. You can read more about how to protect trees during construction in our SlideShare presentation on the topic.
Maintain Existing Trees
Existing trees need maintenance and health care to reach the mature age where they are most beneficial. Younger trees likely need structural pruning to help them develop healthy and safe form. Mature generally need less frequent pruning than younger trees, as their form is set. However, they may need pruning every so often to remove dead limbs, reduction from your home or other purposes. Insect and disease management might be needed as well.
Planting New Trees
There are two main considerations in planting new trees to increase property value – species selection and tree placement. With these two considerations in mind you can plant new trees with specific monetary benefits in mind.
Species Selection
Selecting the wrong species can doom a tree from the time it is planted. Species considerations include the tree’s mature size, soil needs and hardiness zone. Using online tree selectors can help determine what species will do well on your specific property.
Tree Placement
Planting trees in the wrong place can cause more harm (and cost) than good. Trees planted too close to homes and infrastructure can eventually cause roof damage, impede sight lines and grow onto your neighbor’s property. They can also run out of rooting space, compromising health and the structural integrity of walls and pipes.
Monetary Benefits to Plan For
Energy Savings
Trees have the potential to reduce energy costs 25% once they reach maturity (US DOE). However, they must be planted in strategic locations to maximize benefit. A tree planted in the wrong place could actually increase energy costs over time if it blocks passive sunlight from heating your home in the winter. Planting near air conditioners also helps reduce the amount of work they must do to cool your house, thus reducing energy usage. The graphics below illustrate just where to plant trees to maximize energy savings. You can also check out i-Tree Design, a tool from the US Forest Service that will help determine where to plant what on your specific property.
While simply having trees on your property may increase its value, HOW can you plant new trees and take advantage of existing ones to get the most out of your property?
Keep What You Have and Plant What You Want
There are two main ways in which you can increase your home’s value with trees – preserving and maintaining trees already on the property and strategic planting of new trees.
Preserve and Maintain Existing Trees
Buying a property with large, healthy trees is obviously the easiest way to get the benefits of such trees around your home. Larger, older trees provide exponentially more value than small trees (US Forest Service). But when you have trees already on your property, there are several things you need to do to maximize their benefit.
Preserve Trees During Construction
If you are building a new home on a wooded lot, there are several steps you can take to preserve trees during construction. The most important step is to keep all construction activities (not just the final structure) as far from root systems of existing trees as possible. The most common advice is to keep from cutting or damaging all roots within 1 foot of the base of the tree for each inch of tree diameter (Purdue University). Sensitive trees will require greater protection. Proper fencing and crown pruning are also critical. You can read more about how to protect trees during construction in our SlideShare presentation on the topic.
Maintain Existing Trees
Existing trees need maintenance and health care to reach the mature age where they are most beneficial. Younger trees likely need structural pruning to help them develop healthy and safe form. Mature generally need less frequent pruning than younger trees, as their form is set. However, they may need pruning every so often to remove dead limbs, reduction from your home or other purposes. Insect and disease management might be needed as well.
Planting New Trees
There are two main considerations in planting new trees to increase property value – species selection and tree placement. With these two considerations in mind you can plant new trees with specific monetary benefits in mind.
Species Selection
Selecting the wrong species can doom a tree from the time it is planted. Species considerations include the tree’s mature size, soil needs and hardiness zone. Using online tree selectors can help determine what species will do well on your specific property.
Tree Placement
Planting trees in the wrong place can cause more harm (and cost) than good. Trees planted too close to homes and infrastructure can eventually cause roof damage, impede sight lines and grow onto your neighbor’s property. They can also run out of rooting space, compromising health and the structural integrity of walls and pipes.
Monetary Benefits to Plan For
Energy Savings
Trees have the potential to reduce energy costs 25% once they reach maturity (US DOE). However, they must be planted in strategic locations to maximize benefit. A tree planted in the wrong place could actually increase energy costs over time if it blocks passive sunlight from heating your home in the winter. Planting near air conditioners also helps reduce the amount of work they must do to cool your house, thus reducing energy usage. The graphics below illustrate just where to plant trees to maximize energy savings. You can also check out i-Tree Design, a tool from the US Forest Service that will help determine where to plant what on your specific property.
Aesthetic value
People pay more for properties with trees than those without. Studies have shown that homes on treed lots and well-manicured landscapes can command a price premium of 15-20% over lots without such characteristics (Laverne). While most potential home buyers likely don’t stop and think “I’ll pay $40,000 more for this home because it has trees than I would if it didn’t have them” data shows that buyers do make such decisions subconsciously.
Aside from preserving trees during construction as mentioned above, there are three ways in which planting for aesthetics can help increase home value.
Plant over pavement and other hardscapes
Using trees to shade your driveway, brickwork and other hardscapes can help extend their life by several years4 by reducing photodegradation caused by the sun. Not only will this save on replacement costs, but well maintained hardcapes will be more attractive to potential buyers as well.
If you park your car outside, you can also plant trees over your parking space to reduce the amount of time it takes your air conditioner to cool the inside during the summer.
Other Benefits
Trees offer other potential monetary benefits as well, including as a source of food and timber. Mature fruit trees can be attractive to potential buyers as a novelty or a way to save real money on food costs. If you have a large enough property, harvesting trees at maturity for lumber can be a source of income.
Return on Investment
The cost to plant and maintain trees can be significant. New trees of good quality can easily cost a few hundred dollars with installation. However, the return on investment of planting new trees is almost always positive if the right tree is planted in the right place and cared for properly over its lifetime. A Michigan State University study found that homeowners achieved a 109 per cent return on every landscaping dollar spent – higher than any other home improvement (Michigan State University).
References
People pay more for properties with trees than those without. Studies have shown that homes on treed lots and well-manicured landscapes can command a price premium of 15-20% over lots without such characteristics (Laverne). While most potential home buyers likely don’t stop and think “I’ll pay $40,000 more for this home because it has trees than I would if it didn’t have them” data shows that buyers do make such decisions subconsciously.
Aside from preserving trees during construction as mentioned above, there are three ways in which planting for aesthetics can help increase home value.
- Plant trees that grow large – As mentioned above, large trees provide exponentially more benefits than smaller trees. So if you have the space, fill it with large trees.
- Align trees with other property features – as mentioned above, trees should be planted so that they do not conflict with existing infrastructure. They also should accent, not block architectural features that improve curb appeal.
- Keep it simple and natural – A landscape cluttered with dozens of different species scattered about projects a sense of high maintenance costs. Instead, focus on a few species of trees and arrange them in a natural, pleasing manner.
Plant over pavement and other hardscapes
Using trees to shade your driveway, brickwork and other hardscapes can help extend their life by several years4 by reducing photodegradation caused by the sun. Not only will this save on replacement costs, but well maintained hardcapes will be more attractive to potential buyers as well.
If you park your car outside, you can also plant trees over your parking space to reduce the amount of time it takes your air conditioner to cool the inside during the summer.
Other Benefits
Trees offer other potential monetary benefits as well, including as a source of food and timber. Mature fruit trees can be attractive to potential buyers as a novelty or a way to save real money on food costs. If you have a large enough property, harvesting trees at maturity for lumber can be a source of income.
Return on Investment
The cost to plant and maintain trees can be significant. New trees of good quality can easily cost a few hundred dollars with installation. However, the return on investment of planting new trees is almost always positive if the right tree is planted in the right place and cared for properly over its lifetime. A Michigan State University study found that homeowners achieved a 109 per cent return on every landscaping dollar spent – higher than any other home improvement (Michigan State University).
References
- The Large Tree Argument. Center for Urban Forest Research. U.S. Forest Service. https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/topics/urban_forestry/products/cufr_511_large_tree_argument.pdf
- Construction and Trees: Guidelines for Protection. Purdue University Extension. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/fnr/fnr-463-w.pdf
- Landscaping for Energy Efficient Homes. U.S. Department of Energy. https://energy.gov/energysaver/landscaping-energy-efficient-homes
- Laverne, Robert J. and Kimberly Winson-Geideman. The Influence of Trees and Landscaping on Rental Rates at Office Buildings. Journal of Arboricuture. http://www.actrees.org/files/Research/laverne_trees_and_rent.pdf
- Landscape plant material, size and design sophistication increase perceived home value.’ Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, East Lansing.