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value adjustments

5 things to remember about the value of landscaping

March 22, 2017 By Ryan Lundquist 14 Comments

How much value does landscaping really add? Nothing. A minor amount. A huge total. I’ve heard it all when it comes to what people think landscaping is worth. Today let’s kick around some ideas from an appraisal standpoint. Anything to add?

landscaping in appraisals - sacramento appraisal blog

5 things to remember about the value of landscaping

1) The myth of no value: I’ve heard the sentiment from some real estate professionals that landscaping does not count toward the value. My take? Landscaping is often very important to buyers – especially when it is extensive or highly expected in certain neighborhoods.

2) Front vs back: My sense is front yard landscaping does not sway buyers like the backyard does. I’m not saying it’s not important or curb appeal doesn’t matter (it does). I’m only saying the rear yard tends to make a much more significant impact on value since people spend more time there.

3) One size doesn’t fit all: The value of landscaping will vary significantly depending on the price range and neighborhood. For instance, a few years back during the height of home flipping activity, it was common to see flippers at the lower end of the market do very basic cosmetic landscaping in the front yard while doing almost nothing with the backyard (seriously, rear yards were at times just dirt or bordering on unkempt). In contrast, higher priced homes were getting full-service attention in both the front and backyard. Why? Because the market had different expectations by price range and the investors’ sense was spending the money was worth it in some neighborhoods and not others.

4) On par after huge money spent: Sometimes owners will spend good money to redo an unkempt yard only to expect a huge price premium. The problem is post-landscaping the owner is now basically on par with other homes in the neighborhood rather than in a position to command a premium. This is not easy to swallow, but it’s important to recognize in order to avoid overpricing. 

5) Dollar for dollar: While we like to get a “dollar for dollar” return on our improvement projects (at the least), that’s not always possible in real estate. So when an owner says, “I spent $125,000 in my backyard” and otherwise similar homes are selling for $700,000, can we really expect this property to be worth $825,000? That’s probably not realistic, right? Most of all though, let’s find comps with incredible landscaping and let those properties tell the story of value. That way we are letting actual market data speak to us to set the tone for what buyers have been willing to pay for similar landscaping. Isn’t that better than shooting from the hip about what landscaping may or may not be worth?

Case-in-point for an incredible backyard: While appraising in the Natomas area of Sacramento I came across a house with an incredible backyard. I ended up NOT using it as a “comp” because this property sold about 10% higher than others because of the built-in pool, custom covered patio, built-in BBQ, outdoor fireplace, and everything else in the yard. I’m not calling all of these things landscaping of course, but at the same time let’s be realistic to think buyers may lump some of these items in the same category. Anyway, at times it’s tempting to give a token $10,000 upward value adjustment when we see a nice rear yard because that’s what a mentor taught us to do, but sometimes the market is willing to pay more like 10%. In this case otherwise similar homes seemed to come in around $450,000 and the subject sold for $495,000 (there were 7 offers). There was one other sale at $485,000 and it also had a sweet backyard. As you can see on the graph, the incredible backyard seemed to really matter.

incredible landscaping - sacramento appraisal blog

Here is what the rear yard looked like. I could live with that. You?

house with amazing rear yard - sacramento appraiser

Remember, let’s find a few examples of extensive rear landscaping (or an amazing backyard) if possible so we don’t base our perception of value on only one sale. After all, what is that one sale sold too high or too low?

The Washington Post: Two weeks ago I wrote a post about the ugly side of appraisal fees, and as a result Ken Harney of The Washington Post interviewed a handful of appraisers (including me) for a piece that went live today. Ken is a nationally syndicated columnist, so the conversation that took place here is going to be moving to a much bigger level. Thank you everyone. Here is Ken’s article.

Questions: What stands out to you most about what I mentioned above? What is #6? Did I miss something?

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Filed Under: Appraisal Stuff, Resources Tagged With: amazing landscaping, appraisal home sacramento, appraisals in Sacramento, appraisers in Sacramento, extensive lansdcaping, how appraisers make adjustments, Ryan Lundquist, Sacramento Appraisal Blog, sacramento appraisal group, Sacramento Appraiser, sacramento appraisers, sweet backyard, value adjustments, value of landscaping, what is landscaping worth

How much value does an extra bedroom add?

May 23, 2016 By Ryan Lundquist 33 Comments

How much value does an extra bedroom add? The bad news is there isn’t a one-size fits all answer that makes sense for every neighborhood. But the good news is we can think through some of the key issues to respond intelligently. On that note, let’s kick around some ideas below. I’d love to hear your take in the comments.

value of a bedroom - sacramento appraisal blog

Things to consider about the value of an extra bedroom:

  1. More is often better: Let’s be realistic. More bedrooms is usually a better thing for value because a home with more bedrooms is more marketable to buyers. That’s obvious, though there comes a point when there are too many bedrooms, right? (like Evander Holyfield’s old house with 12 bedrooms and 21 bathrooms).
  2. Diminishing value with each bedroom: Generally speaking the added value of extra bedrooms tends to diminish with each additional bedroom. It’s sort of like how you pay less for each ounce of Starbucks coffee the more you buy. In other words, the value difference between a 1-bedroom home compared to a 2-bedroom home could be far more substantial than the value difference between a 2-bedroom home and a 3-bedroom home (or 3-bedrooms vs. 4-bedrooms).
  3. Canned adjustments: It’s tempting to give a token value adjustment for bedroom count differences. Maybe we heard it somewhere or learned from a “mentor” the value adjustment should be $10,000 for each bedroom. So we give this adjustment any time we see a bedroom difference. But does this amount really make sense if we are talking about 2 vs 3 bedrooms and 5 vs 6 bedrooms? Don’t you think the value variance could be huge for 2 vs 3 bedrooms but maybe minimal at best for 5 vs 6 bedrooms?
  4. Layout:  At times a 3-bedroom home may sell on par with a 4-bedroom home because of a stellar layout. Imagine a 1400 sq ft 3-bedroom house compared to a 1400 sq ft 4-bedroom house. One house obviously has more bedrooms, which on paper makes it sound more valuable, but the 3-bedroom house very likely has a larger Living Room, which could help it compete well with the 4-bedroom home. This is a good reminder to be careful about blindly letting bedroom count have the final say.
  5. It’s easy to adjust twice: If we adjust a comp for both square footage and bedroom count, we might actually double-dip on our adjustments. I’m not saying both adjustments are not needed, but at times it may suffice to adjust one or the other instead of both.
  6. The story of the comps: At the end of the day we need to find similar sales and let those sales tell the story of value. This means if we are valuing a 4-bedroom house, let’s use some 4-bedroom comps. Or if we are valuing a 3-bedroom house, let’s be sure we are using at least some 3-bedroom comps. Of course it’s okay to use sales with a different bedroom count and make value adjustments if needed. As a closing example, it’s easy to claim there is a huge price premium for that 5th bedroom, so it’s tempting to give an automatic canned adjustment. But have other 5-bedroom homes really sold at a premium? Let’s look closely at sales and try to find the answer.

I hope this was helpful.

Questions: What is point #7? Did I leave anything out? I’d love to hear your take.

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Filed Under: Appraisal Stuff, Resources Tagged With: adjustments in appraisals, appraisal adjustments, appraiser opinion of bedrooms, bedroom count, house appraisers, Sacramento home appraisers, sacramento regional appraisal blog, value adjustments, value difference for bedrooms, value of bedrooms in real estate

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