It’s no surprise considering the continued growth and success of the real estate market over the past 6 to seven years to find out that the landscaping market is poised for the same degree of growth in the near future. As property continues to increase in value, and as people have more and more disposable income, the landscape market will follow.
According to RnR Market Research, the demand for landscaping products in the US is expected to grow to nearly $9 billion in 2019. More than half of that demand will come from the residential sector, where homeowners are becoming more in tune with the DIY and HGTV culture of cultivating functional, aesthetically unique outdoor experiences. People have come around on the importance of having an attractive outdoor space surrounding your home, and that fact will cause an influx of demand into the market and result in landscape architects, professional designers, and contractors to thrive.
Let’s take a look at a few reasons why landscaping is so important to the value of your home, and outline a few low-impact improvements you can make to your outdoor space today.
Landscaping Has Never Been More Popular
The mass hysteria surrounding shows such as The Property Brothers, Love it or List it, and House Hunters has given people without a background in landscape design a window into how much of an improvement a thoughtful, considerately designed outdoor space can be on a home. No longer are people only focusing on what happens within the walls of their home, and that shift in home design culture has given a substantial boost to the landscaping market.
A Lawn Just Doesn’t Cut it Anymore
Homeowners are quickly realizing how high-maintenance and dependent on massive amounts of water even a small patch of lawn can be. More and more people are getting rid of their lawns, replacing them with designed hardscapes that are not only better for the environment, they are much easier on your weekend chore schedule.
Hardscapes include wood decking, stone pavers, and drought resistant plants that don’t rely on a constant source of water to keep them happy and healthy. The bottom line is: homeowners are moving away from grass, which in turn is providing more work for landscape professionals and hardscape specialists.
How To Improve Your Outdoor Space
So, you’re on board with the recent trends in exterior home improvements, but you’re not quite sure where to start. Here are a few things you can do without performing a complete backyard overhaul that could end up costing thousands of dollars.
Wood Deck
This is a no brainer. Adding a wood deck off your living room or kitchen essentially acts as an extension of your interior space. Even someone with a limited amount of construction knowledge can self-perform most of the work, including pouring small footings and wood framing. A wood deck is attractive, easy to maintain, and gives your guests something to drool over when you have them over for chicken wings and white wine.
Pool Deck
For homeowners with a backyard swimming pool, adding a pool deck area can help break up the boring old concrete or tile pool surround that you typically see. A pool deck softens up the harsh materiality of a large, concrete hole in your hard and gives people a less slippery place to yell at their kids not to dive into the shallow end.
Raised Garden
A quick trip to your local lumber yard for some dimensional, pressure-treated wood is all you’ll need to build a few raised gardens. Not only do the gardens themselves add a bit of visual diversity to your rear yard, they can be planted with fruits, vegetables, and herbs for you to turn around and use in your kitchen.
Covered Patio
Shade is an important component in creating an outdoor space that is comfortable enough to spend an extended amount of time in. Direct sunlight can ruin that experience, so it’s important to plan a few areas that are shaded by covered awnings, umbrellas, or natural shade provided by trees or large plants.
Wood Walkways
If your yard is large enough, it’s a good idea to create several different zones, or hubs, of functional space. Connecting these hubs with a series of wood walkways adds a soft, natural, easy to navigate web of paths that can make walking from place to place as fun as it is attractive.
The landscape market is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon, and as long as the real estate market stays steady and the culture surrounding home improvement continues to shift towards what lies beyond your home, that’s probably not going to change. Look for the landscape market to sustain considerable growth into the future, as more and more people realize the value potential of the areas of their property not occupied by usable interior space.
