Landscaping is the single home-improvement category where the basic maintenance projects out-earn the splashy luxury ones. The National Association of Realtors' 2023 Remodeling Impact Report on outdoor features puts hard numbers behind that intuition: standard lawn care service returns 217% of its cost at resale, while an in-ground pool returns just 56%. The implication for homeowners and landscape contractors is straightforward. The right projects, executed at the right time, can add tens of thousands of dollars to a home's appraisal. The wrong projects sink money into features that buyers discount or actively dislike. The sections below cover the ROI data, the high-payback projects, the negative-ROI features to avoid, the curb-appeal effect that drives most of the value, and the project-selection framework that lands on the right side of the math.
The NAR 2023 Remodeling Impact Report on Outdoor Features, produced jointly with the National Association of Landscape Professionals, surveys both homeowners and Realtors on the cost recovery of common landscape projects. The percentage figures below represent how much of the project cost the home sale recovers at closing.
Standard lawn care service: 217%. A $415 lawn-care service investment translates to roughly $900 in added home value at resale. This is the highest-ROI outdoor project of any category, and it underscores that buyers value visible everyday-maintenance more than they value any one big structural feature.
Landscape maintenance: 104%. Ongoing seasonal maintenance (mulching, pruning, edging, weed control, seasonal cleanup) returns slightly more than its cost. Cumulative annual maintenance over several years produces a steady value buildup that shows up in the appraisal.
Overall landscape upgrade: 100%. A full landscape redesign with new plants, beds, mulch, and basic hardscape recovers its cost dollar-for-dollar.
Outdoor kitchen: 100%. Built-in grill, counter, sink, and storage that integrates with existing patio space. Cost-neutral at resale but high homeowner satisfaction during ownership.
New patio: 95%. Concrete, stone, or paver patio addition with proper drainage. Recovers near the full project cost.
New wood deck: 89%. A 16x20 pressure-treated deck on the back of the house. Slightly below dollar-for-dollar recovery but adds usable outdoor square footage.
Tree care: 87%. Professional pruning, removal of dead trees, and replacement plantings. Pays back most of its cost and addresses storm-damage and insurance risk.
Irrigation system installation: 83%. Underground sprinkler system. Recovers most of its cost and dramatically reduces the maintenance burden on the next owner.
Landscape lighting: 59%. Path lights, uplights, and accent lighting. Lower ROI but high curb-appeal contribution to evening showings.
Fire feature: 56%. Built-in fire pit or outdoor fireplace. High homeowner satisfaction during ownership; resale recovery only 56% because the next buyer may not value it.
In-ground pool: 56%. The lowest ROI of any major outdoor project, but the highest homeowner "Joy Score" (the qualitative satisfaction measure NAR tracks alongside cost recovery). Pools are great to own and bad investments for resale in most markets outside of South Florida and Southwest desert markets.
High-ROI Projects to Prioritize
Three project categories consistently land on the right side of the ROI math.
Maintenance over upgrades. A weekly mowing service, monthly bed maintenance, and quarterly mulching outperforms a single big landscape redesign at the same total spend. The NAR data backs this up: lawn care (217%) and landscape maintenance (104%) are the two highest cost-recovery projects in the entire outdoor category. Spend the budget on keeping the existing landscape healthy and looking sharp.
Front-yard curb appeal. The front yard is what every prospective buyer sees first, and curb appeal sets the framing for the entire showing. Foundation plantings that don't crowd the windows, healthy lawn edges, a refreshed mulch line, and a clear pathway to the front door deliver disproportionate value relative to spend. Save the elaborate hardscape budget for the back.
Tree care, executed properly. Existing mature trees are an appreciating asset for the property. A single mature shade tree on the south or west side can add measurable dollars to the appraisal and 10-15% cooling load reduction on the HVAC system. Professional pruning every 2-4 years, with selective removal of dead or damaged trees, protects that asset.
Low-ROI Features to Avoid
The flip side of the ROI math is the features that actively depress home value or eat budget without recovery.
Overgrowth and visible neglect. The single biggest curb-appeal negative. Weeds in the beds, ragged shrub lines, dead branches, and patchy lawn drop appraisal value and discourage buyers from looking past the front yard. A few thousand dollars of catch-up maintenance is one of the cheapest pre-listing improvements available.
Big-budget custom features. Built-in pizza ovens, elaborate koi ponds, custom water features, and one-of-a-kind themed gardens generally don't recover their cost and may actively limit the buyer pool. The next homeowner has to be willing to inherit the ongoing maintenance.
In-ground pools (in cold-climate markets). Pools recover only 56% of cost on average and create year-round maintenance the next owner inherits. In hot-climate markets (South Florida, Phoenix, Las Vegas), pools are closer to break-even or net-positive because they're expected. Anywhere else they're a luxury feature with a buyer-pool-narrowing effect.
Excessive concrete or hardscape. Patios and walkways add value when proportional. Solid concrete covering most of the back yard reads as a maintenance penalty and loss of usable green space. The right balance is roughly 30-40% hardscape, 60-70% planted area for a typical residential lot.
Trees too close to the foundation. Large-canopy trees within 15-20 feet of the house create foundation and roof risks that show up on home inspections. Per DOE landscape-shade guidance, plant medium to large trees 30-50 feet from the foundation and small ornamentals at least 15 feet away.
Why Curb Appeal Matters First
Most of the landscape ROI comes from the first ten seconds of the buyer's drive-by. Real-estate research consistently shows that buyers form a price-anchor opinion before they walk through the door, and the curb-appeal first impression sets that anchor. Per Zillow research, well-landscaped homes sell faster and at higher relative prices than comparable homes with minimal landscaping. The implication: even modest curb-appeal investments (refreshed mulch, healthy lawn edges, blooming foundation plantings) move the listing photo and the drive-by reaction in the right direction. A house that fails the drive-by test never gets the showing where the rest of the property has a chance to sell itself.
Choosing the Right Landscape Service
The ROI data assumes the work is executed well. Picking the right landscape service matters as much as picking the right project. Four selection criteria.
Insurance and licensing. Confirm general liability insurance and workers' compensation. State-level landscape contractor licensing varies; some states require licensure above a project dollar threshold. The National Association of Landscape Professionals directory lists vetted member companies.
Scope match. Match the service tier to the project. A weekly mow-and-go crew is not the right vendor for a full redesign; a design-build landscape architect is overpriced for routine maintenance. Most growing residential markets have specialty vendors for design, install, and ongoing maintenance separately.
References and recent work. Ask for three references from jobs completed in the past 12 months in the same neighborhood. Drive by the recent-work properties. Reference checks catch the contractors who deliver well on signing day but slip on year-two upkeep.
Written contract and warranty. Plant warranties (typically 1 year on installation), maintenance scope schedules (visit frequency, what's included, seasonal additions), and clear payment terms. Verbal handshake deals work until something dies in the first August heat wave.
Investing in Landscape That Pays Back
The most reliable landscape ROI strategy is also the simplest. Invest in consistent maintenance first (the 217%-return lawn care category), then in curb-appeal improvements that catch the drive-by, then in selective hardscape additions where the math supports it. Skip the negative-ROI custom features unless you plan to enjoy them for at least 7-10 years before selling. For the surrounding home-services stack, see the guide to small business accounting best practices for landscape contractors running the back-office side of a growing operation, and Smart Service for landscape contractors for the software side of running the business.
Smart Service for Landscaping
If you are running a landscaping business and want a software stack that handles scheduling, dispatch, customer history, mobile invoicing, and recurring service contracts, Smart Service integrates with QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online and the iFleet mobile app keeps techs in the field synced with the office. Try a free demo to see how it fits!
