When planning to sell should I invest in new landscaping?

If you’re planning to sell your home and your lawn and trees are looking a little rough, investing in landscaping can be worth it! First impressions matter, and the exterior of your home is the first thing buyers see. However, you don’t necessarily need to spend thousands of dollars on a complete landscaping makeover to make your property more appealing. I would focus on cleaning up what you already have, trimming overgrown trees, adding fresh mulch, planting a few colorful flowers, and making sure the lawn looks as healthy as possible. If your grass is beyond saving, consider replacing only the most noticeable areas rather than redoing the entire yard. In many cases, simple improvements can make a big difference without breaking the bank. Before investing heavily, talk with your real estate agent about what buyers in your neighborhood are looking for and which improvements are most likely to help your home stand out. The goal is to make your home feel inviting, well-maintained, and ready for its next owner without over-improving for the market.

My answer is going to cut against the thread a little: do not install new landscaping. Repair what you have. Here is the reasoning, and it comes down to what new landscaping actually communicates to a buyer. Freshly installed plantings look freshly installed. Raw mulch, small plants with visible spacing between them, sharp new edging, a strip of new sod with seams. A buyer walking up does not think "beautiful garden." They think "they just did this to sell it," and then they start wondering what else got covered up. Meanwhile, nothing you plant is going to mature before you list. You are paying full price for the least attractive stage of a plant's life. What actually has value is maturity, and you cannot buy that on a timeline. So the goal is to reveal and restore what is already there. What I would spend the money on, in order: - Cutting back and shaping. Overgrown shrubs blocking windows or crowding the front door are the single biggest curb appeal problem in most older neighborhoods, and it is the cheapest one to fix. Light comes into the house, the front door becomes visible, and the house instantly looks larger. This alone is often the whole job. - Removing anything dead or dying. Dead shrubs read as neglect and the buyer generalizes from them to the roof. - Edging and defining the beds. A crisp edge is what makes a yard read maintained rather than merely green. This is labor, not materials, and it does more per dollar than anything else on the list. - Mulch, but a thin refresh rather than a thick new layer. You are covering bare soil, not building a berm. - The lawn. You said it is in sad shape. If you have time before listing, aerate and overseed. New Jersey is cool-season grass country, and late summer into early fall is when overseeding actually takes. If you are listing outside that window, be realistic: mow, edge, water, and accept green-ish. A lawn cannot be fixed in two weeks and sod laid in July looks like sod laid in July. Two things that are worth real money and are not landscaping: - Trees. You mentioned trees in sad shape. A dead or structurally compromised tree near the house is not a curb appeal item, it is an inspection and insurance item, and a buyer's inspector will call it out. Get an arborist to look, and deal with anything hazardous. That is a defensive expense, not a cosmetic one. - The front of the house itself. If there is budget left after the yard work, it goes here, not into plants. The data has been consistent for years: in Zonda's 2025 Cost vs. Value Report, 8 of the top 10 projects by cost recouped were exterior replacements. Front door, garage door, house numbers, light fixture, a pressure wash of the walk and the siding. That is where exterior dollars perform. One sequencing note. Whatever you do, do it before photographs, not after. Almost every buyer decides whether to visit your house from a photo of the front of it. Yard work finished the week after the photos went up is money spent on nobody. I am a real estate professional and I do not work the New Jersey market, so have a local agent walk the front of the house and tell you what buyers there are reacting to. My name is Zoltan Peresztegi and I work in Los Angeles, the South Bay and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Prune, edge, and clean before you plant a single thing. Zoltan

Making your house look as appealing as possible would be the ultimate goal. And given that curb appeal is the first this a potential buyer sees, it is highly recommended. Keith Jean-Pierre Managing Principal The Dapper Agents Real Estate Operations in ALL 50 States

Yes, it's worth investing in landscaping before selling, and you don't need to spend a fortune to make a noticeable difference. If your lawn is in rough shape, start with the basics. Overseed bare spots, fertilize, and water consistently for a few weeks before listing. If the lawn is beyond saving in the short term, sod the front yard. It's not cheap but it delivers instant curb appeal and the front yard is what shows up in every listing photo. For trees, remove any that are dead, dying, or overgrown to the point of blocking the home's facade. Trim back branches that touch the roof or hang over the house. Healthy, well-maintained trees are a selling point. Neglected ones that look like a liability are a turnoff. Focus your spending on the front of the home and the areas visible from the street. Fresh mulch in all beds, defined edges, trimmed shrubs, and a few seasonal plants near the front door go a long way. Pressure wash the driveway, walkways, and any hardscape that looks dingy. The backyard matters but it's secondary to the front. Clean it up, mow it, and make it presentable. You don't need to install a patio or build out a full landscape design for the back unless it's truly barren. Budget $1K to $5K depending on the scope. That investment typically comes back in faster showings, stronger offers, and fewer days on market.

Hi Eric, I get this question a lot. Usually a little landscaping goes a long way since it’s the first thing buyers see when they pull up. You don’t need to go crazy — cleaning up the beds, fresh mulch, trimming trees and bushes, and getting the lawn in decent shape can make a big difference. I usually focus on simple things that make the house look well cared for WITHOUT spending a fortune.

Eric, think of your yard as the face of your house. It's the first impression and the final impression as people leave your home. Start with the grass and make sure it looks healthy. It doesn't have to be a golf course, but it should be green. Trees and shrubs should be healthy and well trimmed. So is it worth it? Yes, it's very important. Fortunately or not, your book (house) is judged by its cover.

Although this is an old post, for anyone new looking, landscaping as far as freshening mulch, and clean up, is low cost and makes the house look so much nicer. A budget of $1000 goes a long way and you get your money back in curb appeal.

Investing in new landscaping can significantly enhance the curb appeal of your property, making it more attractive to potential buyers and possibly increasing the overall value of your home. If your lawn and trees are in poor condition, refreshing the landscaping can make a strong first impression, which is crucial in the real estate market. Consider consulting a landscaping professional.

Eric, Great question. Without doing a complete overhaul or breaking the bank, you’ll want to focus on the basics; hire a landscaper to reseed the lawn & or provide some type of lawn care. For the trees you’ll want to replace if dead, but if not a simple trimming & pruning will go a long way. If you’re looking to add a higher level concept or design to your property, it’s been to discuss sale value & the current market dynamics to ensure you’re going to get a return when selling. Sometimes you’ll find designing landscaping can be a costly project & that money may be spend more efficiently on interior upgrades if you haven’t already done so. Happy to help discuss if you have any further questions.

First Impressions. The first thing a buyer sees when coming to view your house is the front yard. If your landscape is lacking color, add some potted flowers. Replace old shrubs if your budget allows.

Curb appeal is Important. But overdoing it is not something that you want to do either. A local Real estate Listing expert can most likely look at your specific situation and give you a better direction of what to do and not do.... But big things, basics green grass and trimmed and neatness is always good. I also read that yellow flowers help sell a home faster..... So look at your yard compared to those in the neighborhood does it stack up?

Landscaping is old after 10 years. You need to have the curb appeal. Best to bring a professional realtor to the house before you spend your money so you have the correct ROI.

It depends on the overall picture of your landscape. Its a good idea to have a great agent look at your property specifically to advise. Though in general if you can clean up the yard for minimal amount of money is preferred. Replacing landscape or putting in new landscape can be costly and you never know what the buyer is going to want. Often it will make more sense to price the home accordingly rather than put landscape in. Though each case is going to be unique depending on your market.