If you want to sell your Orange County home, or are just thinking long term, landscape improvements are one of the most effective ways to increase appeal and long term value.. In particular, curb appeal additions spark more interest and make your home’s heightened value as clear as possible.

97% of National Association of Realtors members believe curb appeal is important for attracting buyers and 98% believe it’s important to the buyers themselves. That means curb appeal renovations and remodels are the surest ways to get a home sold faster and at a higher price. 

Orange County offers some of the highest valued property markets available with a year-round outdoor climate. With a mean annual temperature of 64°F and annual rainfall averaging 11.4 inches, outdoor experiences matter more. OC homeowners make the most of the Mediterranean weather and pay more for the chance to experience it in their homes.

The NAR and NALP track customer satisfaction and identify the top factors for improved property values and homeowner experiences. But:

• Which additions actually contribute to increased happiness and property value? 

• What improvements net the best returns in Orange County? 

• Why do these improvements increase joy and value so much more?

In this guide, we break down the landscape improvements that provide the best lifestyle benefits and financial returns in Orange County.

Why Landscaping Matters During a Remodel

The appeal of landscaping improvements landscape improvements can be broken down into three categories.

Curb Appeal & First Impressions

Your exterior upgrades finalize the “new home” look that you want to create. They are the first impression visitors will see and set their expectations for what the rest of the property is like. In real estate, first impressions often translate directly into tens of thousands of additional dollars changing hands. Specifically, curb appeal can add up to 7% to a home’s price.

Lifestyle Benefits

Outdoor improvements raise home values in large part because of the lifestyle changes they can bring. There are few places where this is more true than Southern California, where they offer year-round usability.

In Orange County, outdoor improvements aren’t just limited to relaxation. Many extensions in the area come in the form of outdoor kitchens, patios, decks, and other spaces designed for dining, entertaining, and everyday living.

These additions expand how your home is used on a daily basis. They can make a remodel feel larger, more functional, and better suited to the way OC homeowners actually live.

Financial & ROI Benefits

Of course, the returns you get for these outdoor improvements matters to homeowners who may want to sell their home at some point in their lifetime. All of these improvements increase your equity and the resale value of your home. 22% of homeowners prioritize increased equity when remodeling.

According to the NAR 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features, the highest ROI outdoor outdoor remodeling projects are:

1. Standard lawn care services: 217%
2. Landscape maintenance: 104%
3. Overall landscape upgrades: 100%
4. Outdoor kitchens: 100%
5. New patios: 95%
6. New wood decks: 89%
7. Tree care: 87%
8. Irrigation system installation: 83%
9. Landscape lighting: 59%
10. Fire features: 56%

The primary trend in outdoor remodeling is that you get the highest ROI for the simplest projects. Lawn care is the only outdoor project that offers an over 200% ROI, making it one of the most reliable starting points when you’re thinking of selling your home. Their costs and returns are low in absolute numbers, but their ease of access and high returns make them the “low hanging fruit” of the real estate business.

These insights don’t call for a total shift in focus, but rather a checklist that always includes basic landscape maintenance. 

The luxury/lifestyle features are still often worth the investment you put in them. Their relative returns are lower, but more expensive pools, for example, can produce higher sums in their returns.

Book a consultation to discuss your personal goals for your home and how to financially approach the best path to achieving them.

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Best Landscape Improvements to Complement an OC Home Remodel

These are the improvements we’ve seen bring the most happiness and highest ROI among landscape improvements in Orange County.

1. A Well-Maintained, Healthy Lawn

First of all, the maintenance and health of your lawn are the first signals people see. A well-maintained and healthy lawn signals that the home is well cared for. 97% of NAR members say healthy landscaping is an important part of attracting potential buyers.

Seasonal fertilizer and weed control are the crucial aspects of a well-maintained lawn. These basics help demonstrate consistent care to make a great first impression.

Beyond the minimum, you can take extra care and make additions for a more impressive landscape. But a great lawn is about more than showing you care and first impressions. A healthy lawn enhances any new exterior finishes your home has. The landscape compliments your exterior finishes and amenities and by reinforcing a cohesive, finished look.

2. General Landscape Upkeep & Refresh

Your overall landscape should look fresh and well-kempt. Mulching, pruning, and shrub trimming keep your yard clean. These small maintenance tasks add up, creating an intentional appearance that completes the picture a remodel is meant to create.

Think of general landscaping as the high-impact finishing touch for a remodel. It helps buyers see a cared for home with strong curb appeal, which builds confidence that the home has been well maintained and thoughtfully improved.

3. Outdoor Kitchen Additions

Outdoor kitchens provide outdoor entertainment and hosting opportunities that capitalize on Orange County’s year-round outdoor living appeal. Outdoor kitchens are one of the most valuable outdoor extensions for the functionality and lifestyle boost they provide. 

Typical additions include built-in grills, sinks, and counter space. They are often built into broader patio or luxury deck projects. Like indoor kitchens, you have a wide variety of options with different functionality and expenses. Some built-in outdoor grills are inexpensive, but more comprehensive kitchen setups are often incorporated into higher-end outdoor living spaces.

When planned alongside an interior remodel, an outdoor kitchen can feel like a natural extension of the home, strengthening indoor to outdoor flow and maximizing everyday use of the space.

4. Landscape Upgrades for a Modern Look

Overall landscape upgrades typically include a full roster of additions that may include elements such as:

• Planters
• Pavers
• Drought-tolerant plants
• Native species
• Stone planters
• Flowering shrubs
• Trees
• Bark mulch

Many homeowners receive ROIs of 50% to 100% from broad landscape upgrade projects. The key to maximizing returns is a well thought out, cohesive execution that adds beauty across the entire landscape. Landscape upgrades should add curb appeal and also enhance how the property looks and feels from every vantage point.

5. New Paver or Concrete Patio

Backyard installations offer clear lifestyle benefits for homeowners and their families and guests. But they are also critical parts of thorough value-adding renovations. New concrete patios built on gravel and sand offer long-lasting outdoor comfort.

One of the best ways to approach a new paver or concrete patio is to use it as a natural extension of indoor spaces. For example, a patio with sliding doors that improve the indoor-outdoor flow of a kitchen or living room. This makes patios and pavers especially effective additions when paired with an interior remodel.

6. New Wood or Composite Deck

According to the NAR, a wood deck has slightly less appeal than a new patio. When you’re renovating your interior, decks offer the same or more opportunities for indoor-outdoor flow, possibly from either or both of the first two floors.

While outdoor wood extensions can have their risks, modern luxury wood deck materials are robust and long-lasting. They require periodic maintenance, but are resistant to mold and decay. While wood decks are normally approximately 50% more expensive than patios, they provide similar returns.

When it comes to personal enjoyment, wood decks offer some of the highest potential for day-to-day lifestyle enhancement.

7. Tree Care & Tree Refresh

Tree care makes the top tier of the top 10 list for the NAR’s Joy Score. They provide much-needed shade during Southern California’s summers. Well cared for trees also boost a property’s appeal through their peaceful aesthetic, all while supporting local wildlife.

Proper tree care maintenance includes trimming, shaping, and removal. But tree care also addresses crucial safety issues like dying trees and pest control. The exact price of tree care naturally varies widely.

Indoor renovations are a great time to consider tree care to protect your new roof, windows, or features like solar installations.

8. Automated Irrigation System

Smart irrigation is a landscape improvement that is increasingly important in Orange County. Automated irrigation is about more than convenience. Smart irrigation features like drip systems and drought-friendly controls can help efficiently safeguard a home’s outdoor environment.

An automated irrigation system is a good initial landscape improvement if you want to add more lawn, plants, trees, or other greenery. It helps prepare the property for new landscaping while keeping existing plants healthy with minimal ongoing effort.

Automated systems typically include:

• Soil monitoring
• Efficient water management 
• Weather monitoring
• Waste reduction
• Automated cost efficiency

Automated irrigation systems are long-term solutions that are expensive upfront but pay off over time. Their long-term financial impacts increase the value of Orange County properties by 5% to 15%.

9. Outdoor Lighting

Having year-round outdoor weather is great, but it’s hard to enjoy when you can’t see much. With some winter sunsets being even earlier than 5pm, quality outdoor lighting is a crucial component of enjoying your outdoor scenery. On cozy spring and autumn nights, great lighting can extend your enjoyment of outdoor areas into the precious early evening hours.

There are many renovation and even DIY options for landscape lighting in Orange County. A thorough, value-adding lighting setup normally includes LED pathway lights and architectural uplighting. The ideal goal is to showcase your remodeled exteriors, make using outdoor amenities pleasurable, and improve safety.

The prices for modern outdoor lighting systems vary widely, starting in the hundreds of dollars but sometimes going as high as $5,000. If you’re thinking about an investment-focused lighting setup, you can get the best returns by ensuring your landscape and home remodel is clearly visible to passersby at night.

10. Fire Features

“Fire features” include additions like fire pits, gas fire bowls, and built-in patio features. Many are built into patios and can offer ambiance and outdoor entertainment value.

Fire features are near the top of the NAR Joy Score list, coming in at fifth place just after a new wood deck. Imagine the dry, colder, earlier winter nights, but with a large fire pit for warming and barbequing. Fire features add a much-needed year-round appeal that keeps your outdoor spaces enjoyable through the cold and dark months.

Small-scale outdoor fire features can start in the low hundreds of dollars. Some Orange County homeowners go all-in on winter enjoyment and spend tens of thousands on the highest-end professional installations. When well designed and properly installed, these features can add proportional returns on investment. Many homebuyers value making the most of Southern California’s outdoor appeal.

11. Pool or Spa Additions

If you want to maximize outdoor enjoyment or strengthen resale value, pool and spa additions are another addition with year-round outdoor appeal. Think of modern luxury additions like Gunite pools or spa tubs built on modern hardscaping. 

In fact, in-ground pool additions are the number one outdoor remodeling projects on the NAR Joy Scale, with a perfect 10. In Orange County, pool additions are even more appreciated than in most of the US. They are also usable for far more of the year than they are in most areas studied.

Buyers also value eco-friendly features that promote water and energy efficiency. Choosing more eco-conscious features increases the value added by the additions and reduces the ongoing costs of maintaining them.

Choosing the Best Landscaping Project for Your Remodel Goals

All of these additions are recognized by realtors to be the best outdoor additions for increasing personal joy and financial value of your home. Each type of addition also comes in multiple different forms with different costs, return potential, and lifestyle benefits.

These are the primary considerations that we help our clients with to ensure they get a great, balanced result with their outdoor renovations.

Budget-Based Recommendations

In each of the applicable project types we’ve covered, we intentionally included different examples for different budgets. First, choose the landscape improvements you want the most. After you’ve chosen which change you want, decide how it ranks against other improvements you are considering.

Consider your current budget; there’s nothing wrong with a series of smaller, less expensive remodels. Taken together, these updates can still add meaningful value and everyday enjoyment to your home.

Lifestyle Priorities

What are your priorities for your renovations? Are you hoping to entertain yourself, family, and friends? Are you thinking of children and family gatherings, or looking for a broader lifestyle appeal?

The wider the appeal you can provide with landscape improvements, the better. But unless you have a very high budget, it’s better to prioritize the improvements that give you the most joy in your day-to-day life.

If you’re thinking of making outdoor improvements to your Orange County home purely for resale preparation, you need to be more deliberate. Some decisions simply perform better than others from a financial standpoint. Many homeowners struggle with the choices they want to make to flip their home for the best possible returns.

At Revive Real Estate, we regularly guide Orange County homeowners through the economics of indoor and outdoor home improvements. We work with and see the real consequences of these choices on a daily basis because it’s our mission to help you make smarter decisions with your home. 

If you want help weighing lifestyle priorities against potential returns, our team can help you evaluate the options and choose a path that makes sense for your goals.

How Landscaping Impacts Home Value in Orange County

Landscaping provides valuable ROI returns as well as personal joy. So which improvements make the biggest difference?

Joy Score Insights

According to the NAR Joy Score for outdoor remodeling projects, there are two additions tied for the top spot for most joyful outdoor improvements:

• In-ground pool additions
• Landscape lighting 

The next three of the top five most joyful outdoor remodeling projects are:

• A new patio
• A new wood deck
• A fire feature

These are the features we see bringing the most joy (and resale value!) here in Orange County. In fact, homes that invest in outdoor spaces buyers can regularly use often feel more livable, and more complete. When planned intentionally, these improvements also align more naturally with the indoor upgrades you’ve already made.

ROI Breakdown

• Best financial returns in California and OC markets

While there are no precise guarantees in real estate returns, our guidance is informed by extensive experience working with homeowners across a wide range of projects.

Broadly speaking, there are two ways to save and get returns on outdoor remodels. First, there is the immediate increase to the resale value of your home. Second, you can make updates that lead to long-term savings.

For the highest-ROI outdoor improvements, curb appeal is the primary consideration. These are the landscape improvements that passersby and guests see first and make the strongest impressions. 

Quick Ways to Boost Curb Appeal After a Remodel

Here are the fastest ways to boost curb appeal after a remodel. These updates can quickly strengthen first impressions and support your home’s resale value.

Simple Enhancements

Simple enhancements to your landscape are surprisingly inexpensive, fast, and value-enhancing. For a quick curb appeal boost, start with:

• Mulch
• Lawn refresh
• Shrub trimming
• Potted plants
• Weed cleanup
• Fresh edging along walkways and garden beds
• Minor tree pruning to open sightlines
• Quick repairs to sprinklers or drip lines
  

When to Hire a Landscaping Pro in OC

For many of the landscape improvement categories we’ve covered, there are inexpensive and easy DIY options. However, DIY landscaping can easily become overwhelming. If your goals aren’t particularly small and controlled, taking on full responsibility can quickly become time consuming and difficult to manage.

We can’t beat around the bush here (pun intended). Certain aspects of value-enhancing landscaping projects in OC simply require expertise to be done well:

• Efficient and thorough lighting 
• Irrigation systems
• Seamless indoor-outdoor transitions
• Hardscaping projects like patios, walkways, and retaining walls
• Grading and drainage that protect both the landscape and the home

A professional landscaper helps ensure consistent quality and the interconnectedness of each part of your remodel. Instead of guessing or fixing mistakes later, you get a cohesive landscape plan that supports your remodel and delivers reliable, long term results.

A Complete Picture

Remodeling can work wonders for your home. But landscaping is the icing on top that makes your home’s transformation feel complete. Like the finishing touch on a cake, it’s also one of the first things people notice.

The right additions improve both your property value and everyday living. Thoughtful landscaping improvements strengthen curb appeal, reinforce the value of your remodel, and make the home more enjoyable to live in every day.