Landscaping your Auckland property, ready to hit the market at top-price? Here’s our quick checklist to ensure you’ll stand out to all those potential buyers.
When it comes to selling your property, in order to stand out in Auckland’s housing market you want to make sure everything is looking it’s very best – especially the landscaping! A tidy garden can take your home from “meh” to a million bucks with a bit of effort; so it’s important to allow yourself enough time to get things up to scratch.
If you’re unsure where to start when it comes to gardens and preparation for sale, here’s a great place to begin.
1 / Make a plan, and plan ahead
There’s no greater enemy than the last minute, so having a timeframe and allowing enough time to complete each task will be your best friend when it comes to selling your home.
Leaving your landscaping to the last minute may result in rushed work and unfinished spaces. To give your property it’s best chance to sell, give it the time it needs to be prepped and primed.
Life can get busy, so allowing yourself sufficient time to chip away at everything that needs to be done will help reduce unnecessary stress.
Get in contact with our friendly team and let us handle landscaping ahead of the sale, leaving you with ample time for all the other jobs that come with selling an Auckland property.
2 / Trim your trees and hedges
Nothing looks better than a well-kept hedge - and nothing says unkempt like an overgrown one! Getting those borders under control is a sure way to present your property with its best foot forward. Hedging plants such as Buxus, Griselinia and Karo all look best when they are trimmed square and neat.
Feature standard trees and ball-shaped plants should also be tidied. These give structure to formal gardens and create the essence of being manicured and looked-after. You may like to consider “lifting the crown” on some trees and shrubs – this involves removing lower branches and suckers, to elongate the trunk and create a tidier assemblage of branches and leaves on top.
3 / Say goodbye to weeds
This is an easy one – if there are weeds, it’s time to remove them!
This includes garden beds and between plants - they have got to go. We suggest also tidying up around pathways, driveways, the kerbside and by your letterbox, for a professional fresh finish. Difficult weeds between concrete and pavers may require spraying. A flax knife works well for other hard to reach places.
4 / Mulch, Mulch, Mulch!
Mulch is always a good idea, whether you are selling your property or not.
Functionally, it keeps moisture in to help prevent plants from drying out, as well as stops the weeds you worked so hard to remove from coming back through.
A mulched garden bed often looks tidier and more complete than bare earth and clay. Consider landscaping and covering any areas of dirt that are exposed or likely to become weed-ridden.
Any areas with pebbles, shells or stones that are thinly spread, or with weed mat poking through, should also be topped up to look finished and presented before sale.
5 / Spruce your pots
Making your pots look their best will help your home look its best too – a few, nice ones will appear tidier than lots of pots overcrowding a space.
We suggest weeding through the bases of pots and ensuring the feature plants are tidy and healthy. With dead growth removed, this creates a feeling of green and lushness.
It’s a great idea to have a simple pot and plant at the front door.
6 / Make every plant look its best
When landscaping your Auckland property makes your outdoor spaces look welcoming, by focussing on the healthy appearance of each individual plant.
Start by removing dead, dying, diseased or damaged foliage. Then address other issues like shaping, pruning, deadheading and staking - where necessary.
Any plants that are dead, or can’t be scrubbed up to a presentable standard, should be removed, or replaced with new healthy plants that suit their surroundings. New plants will help to soften any fencing or hardscaping and increase the appeal of the backyard, particularly if green spaces are looking bare.
7 / Create a lush landscaped lawn
Feeding and weeding your lawn 4-6 weeks out from sale will help your green spaces look their most inviting.
This is an important one to not leave until the last minute! New growth will take time to come through - leaving no hope of an overnight change. Look for a lawn fertiliser in your local garden centre or hardware.
Weeds are best removed with a spot treatment of weed killer, digging out larger weeds may leave holes and patches in your freshly fertilised lawn.
8 / Waterblast
Pathways and driveways that are looking dirty or mossy should be given a good waterblast to freshen up the concrete spaces.
Fresh concrete and brickwork will take years off your property and show off your garden in its best light.
9 / Freshen up your front door
You can’t go past a good doormat. If yours is looking a little past its best by date, consider swapping it out for a new one. Something simple and plain is the way to go, versus anything too bright or unusual.
Your front door is the first welcome to all of your potential buyers, so make it count and make it stand out from the crowd.
If you need some extra help from Auckland landscaping experts before the big sale, let us know! Pop us a message and let’s get talking!
Homesellers checklist
- Make a plan, plan ahead
- Trim your trees and hedges
- Remove weeds
- Mulch
- Tidy pots
- Make every plant look its best
- Create a landscaped lawn
- Waterblast
- Update your doormat
