Looking to spruce up your outdoor space? We’ve got the lowdown on how to make your improvements pay off
The past year of on-again off-again lockdowns and restrictions has brought the outdoor areas of our properties into sharp focus, with our gardens taking on a new level of importance since the pandemic began.
READ MORE: Stylish but simple small garden ideas
According to research by find-a-tradesperson website Rated People, 64% of UK residents now say they wouldn’t buy a property without outdoor space.
The findings, which were part of its Home Improvement Trends report, came via analysis of more than 500,000 jobs posted on its website, as well as a survey of 2,000 UK residents.
Adrienne Minster, CEO at Rated People, said: “Our gardens and outside spaces have been a lifeline over the past year.
“For many of us, outside spaces have gone from being somewhere we might spend a bit of time when the weather is nice, to an important extension of our homes which have allowed us to see friends and family when it might not otherwise have been possible.
“It’s easy to see why homeowners and homebuyers now place more value on outdoor spaces.”
Because of our newfound appreciation for our gardens, almost half (47%) of all UK homeowners are planning to improve theirs this year.
From ponds to patios
The good news is, if you are planning to transform your outside space it should pay off when you come to sell.
The research found that buyers are willing to pay extra for homes with garden improvements, with features such as summerhouses, outdoor entertaining areas, home office garden rooms and outdoor gyms high on their wishlists.
In fact, if you added all four of these to your property, you could add a whopping £20,000 to its value.
According to Rated People, the top garden improvement for adding value is a swimming pool, which could boost your house price by £7,707. But as a pool typically costs more than this to install, this might not be the best choice if your property's value is your top concern.
Happily, there are plenty of other options that should enable you to at least break even when you come to sell, not to mention enjoy with your own family in the meantime.
Top 20 value-adding garden improvements
| Position | Feature | Value added |
| 1 | Swimming pool | £7,707 |
| 2 | Home office garden room | £5,325 |
| 3 | Summerhouse | £5,249 |
| 4 | Garden gym/studio room | £5,107 |
| 5 | Bifold doors/French windows to garden | £4,654 |
| 6 | Outdoor entertaining area | £4,286 |
| 7 | Decked patio | £4,227 |
| 8 | Paved patio | £4,083 |
| 9 | Greenhouse | £3,805 |
| 10 | Mature plants/trees/flowers | £3,716 |
| 11 | Lawned garden | £3,694 |
| 12 | New shed | £3,595 |
| 13 | Contemporary horizontal slatted fencing | £3,589 |
| 14 | Pond | £3,572 |
| 15 | Astroturf | £3,529 |
| 16 | Children's treehouse | £3,519 |
| 17 | Water feature | £3,468 |
| 18 | External lighting | £3,419 |
| 19 | Built-in pizza oven | £3,339 |
| 20 | Built-in outdoor BBQ | £3,320 |
Don’t forget kerb appeal
While many of the featured improvements are focused on rear gardens, separate research from online retailer My Tool Shed showed you can also add value by updating your property’s exterior.
It found that a new lick of paint could add 5% to the value of your home, which amounts to £12.5k based on the UK average house price of £249,309 in January 2021.
Applying a weatherproof coating to the external walls could also add an extra 3.6% to your house's value.
READ MORE: How to build a garden room