Increasing Interest and Desire

I recently read that mature trees can increase home values up to 7% on average.  It really kinda upsets me to read or hear people say this because it isn't completely accurate.  Here's why.


A home with mature trees may be more desirable to people and create more interest in the home.  This is true.  However, it is the desire that the trees create which can cause multiple people to be interested in purchasing a home.  The trees themselves add to the aesthetics of the home that creates the desire.  Especially when the thing you remember is how the outside of the home looks like.  These things which make your home unique to every other home is what gives you leverage.  It's this leverage created that allows one to negotiate a higher sale price.  When it really comes down to it, if your not getting 7% more than the asking price then the price is lower and not higher. 

There is one sure fire way to give the seller more leverage in the negotiations than 7%.  You cannot just plant any old tree and expect it increase the sale price 7%.  But, you can plant trees, shrubs, and other plants that are rare and hard to find and have them increase interest and the value.  Having plants like that in the yard is like finding a box of money buried in the yard.  Rare and hard to find plants can be sold for a profit.  In an HOA you could not do as a means of making a living, but every now and again is, fine. 

Being like everybody else is bad.  Think about it like this, if everyone could play basketball it wouldn't be such an honor to get chosen to play on a professional team.  If everyone could sing, it wouldn't be a dream come true to be discovered.  If everyone and everything was the same, it would be boring.  If everything was the same, nothing would be appreciated.  Everything being the same accentuates that which is different thus creating the desire for that which is different.  It's the differences that makes things interesting. 

Capitalizing on what makes a home unique and different from all the others is why some homes sell for more.  Creating the differences and uniqueness is very very difficult when living in an HOA.  Which is where planting rare and hard to find trees and shrubs comes into play.