The Yard That Pays You Back: Which Landscaping Projects Are Actually Worth It

A $415 lawn program is estimated to recover $900 when you sell. A $90,000 pool is estimated to recover about $50,000. Both are perfectly reasonable things to spend money on — but only one of them is an investment, and knowing the difference is the most useful thing a homeowner can learn about their yard before they list.

That gap comes straight from the National Association of REALTORS®/NALP 2023 Remodeling Impact Report on outdoor features, which surveys REALTORS® and landscape professionals nationwide on typical costs and the value buyers actually recover at resale. I work with sellers across Draper, Riverton, and the rest of the Salt Lake Valley, and I get some version of this question on almost every listing consult: "Is it worth redoing the yard before we sell?" Here's the honest, data-backed answer — and a framework for deciding what to do first.

Spend in this order: protect, restore, create, reduce drag, then enjoy

Most landscaping advice is just a list of projects. The problem with a list is that it doesn't tell you what to do first — and sequence is where money actually gets won or lost in a yard. When you sort the recovery data, it falls almost perfectly into five tiers, and those tiers run from cheapest to most expensive. That's exactly backwards from how most people actually spend on their yards.

1. Protect the property. Hazard limbs over the roof, drainage pointed at the foundation, roots working into a sewer line — this isn't glamorous, but it has the best downside protection of anything on this list.
2. Restore the baseline. Lawn care and routine landscape maintenance return an estimated 217% and 104% of what they cost. Nothing else in the report comes close, and a neglected lawn discounts every upgrade you build on top of it.
3. Create usable space. A patio, a designed landscape upgrade, or a deck turns yard into living area — and this is the tier where enjoyment and resale value overlap the most.
4. Reduce operating drag. Smart irrigation, right-plant-right-place choices, and proper mulch depth lower the water and upkeep cost of everything above. The resale bump is modest, but the yard stops being a second job.
5. Add lifestyle features. Lighting, fire features, and pools score the highest for enjoyment and the lowest for resale recovery. Buy these for the years you'll spend enjoying your home — with your eyes open about the recovery gap.

Here's the part sellers don't expect: the two highest-recovery projects in the entire report — lawn care and landscape maintenance — are the two things most homeowners think of as chores, not investments.

All 11 projects, ranked by what you actually get back

Here's the full list, ranked from highest to lowest estimated cost recovered at resale. Watch how the Joy Score (how much homeowners said they enjoyed the finished project) barely tracks with the recovery number — the gap between the two columns is the honest price of enjoyment.

A few of these are worth calling out for anyone selling here in the Salt Lake Valley:

Standard lawn care (#1) is the highest-recovery item on the entire list and it's the cheapest thing on this page — but don't try to compress it into the six weeks before your listing goes live. Turf recovers on a season, not a schedule, and a rushed program shows up as patchy green, which reads worse than an honest, dormant lawn.

Patio (#5) is the best combination on the whole board — 95% recovery with a 9.9 Joy Score and no structural inspection exposure. If you're only going to create one piece of usable outdoor space before selling, this is usually where I'd point a client first.

Irrigation (#8) matters more here than it might in a wetter market. Utah's climate means an inefficient system can waste an enormous amount of water — the EPA estimates that as much as half of outdoor water use is lost to overwatering and evaporation. A WaterSense-labeled controller (rather than a basic timer) is a small upgrade that protects the lawn and landscaping investment you've already made, which matters even more given our local water restrictions and rebate programs.

Pools, fire features, and lighting (#9–11) are lifestyle purchases with a resale side effect, not the other way around. Buy them because you'll use them for years — not because you expect to get the money back.

Curb appeal sets the buyer's first impression before they walk in

The same NAR/NALP research found that 92% of REALTORS® recommend sellers improve curb appeal before listing, and 97% say curb appeal matters to buyers. That's about as close to unanimous as this industry gets, and it's less about any single feature than the overall first impression a buyer forms before they've even opened the front door.

Separately, Virginia Cooperative Extension research on how buyers perceive landscaping found that moving from a plain design to a more layered, well-maintained one raised perceived home value by roughly 5.5% to 11.4%. Design and upkeep mattered more than how many plants were in the ground — which is exactly why a $9,000 designed upgrade can recover 100% of its cost while a weekend of impulse plant shopping usually doesn't.

What's safe to DIY, and what needs a licensed pro

The recovery numbers above only hold if the work is done correctly. Two of the highest-recovery projects also happen to be the most DIY-friendly — a rare and useful alignment — but several of the lowest-recovery projects are exactly the ones homeowners are most tempted to tackle themselves and shouldn't.

Reasonable to DIY:

• Lawn programs — mowing height, overseeding, a consistent fertilization schedule
• Mulching to the correct depth (never piled against the trunk)
• Bed edging, bed definition, and pruning you can reach from the ground
• Planting, soil amendment, and choosing the right plant for the right spot
• Low-voltage path and step lighting run from a plug-in transformer
• Cleaning, sealing, or joint-sanding an existing patio

Hire a licensed pro:

• Tree work at height, near power lines, or on a structurally compromised tree
• Line-voltage electrical, including any new circuit for lighting or an outdoor kitchen
• Gas lines for fire features, grills, or outdoor kitchens — permit territory
• Deck framing, footings, and ledger attachment/flashing
• Grading or drainage changes that redirect water toward or away from the foundation
• Retaining walls over about three feet, and any pool construction

Two rules apply no matter your skill level: call 811 before you dig anything, and check with your city on permit requirements before starting a deck, retaining wall, gas line, or new electrical circuit. Unpermitted work can turn into a safety issue, a permit problem, and a resale headache all at once.

The bottom line

If your yard is neglected, the cheapest work is also the highest-returning work — lawn care and maintenance recover 217% and 104%, for less than the cost of a single patio. If your yard is healthy but plain, a patio is the best trade on the board: 95% recovery, a 9.9 Joy Score, and none of the inspection risk that comes with a deck or pool. And if you're considering a pool, a fire feature, or a full lighting redesign, buy it for the years you'll spend enjoying it — and think of the 40-45% you likely won't get back as the price of that enjoyment, not a mistake.

Source: National Association of REALTORS®/NALP 2023 Remodeling Impact Report: Outdoor Features. Figures are national survey estimates from REALTORS® and landscape professionals, not guaranteed returns on any individual property — local market conditions, home condition, design quality, and timing all affect the actual number.

Thinking about selling your home in Draper, Riverton, or anywhere along the Wasatch Front? I'd be glad to walk your yard with you and tell you, specifically, which of these projects are worth doing before we list — and which ones you can skip. Reach out to Amy Atkinson Real Estate for a free pre-listing consultation.