Plant Something, It will Increase Your Property Value

Living on a street lined with tall, leafy trees is as much a part of the American dream as a green front lawn and a brand-new car in the driveway. While the latter two are fairly expensive and unsustainable (think pesticides and carbon emissions), it turns out that trees reward property owners with more than just shade.

Plants and trees on and around your property are directly related to a higher property value.

Lots of research proves this- try googling it.

• A study [PDF] by the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station published last month in Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, combined rent data from Craigslist apartment listings in Portland, Oregon with tree data from Google Earth to figure out the effect of trees on rent. The researchers, Geoffrey Donovan of the Forest Service and David Butry of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, found that trees planted directly on a property increase a rental unit's value by more than five dollars per month. Rental units with trees abutting the property lines feel a 21-dollar bump. The trend holds true even when researchers control for other factors that determine a neighborhood's desirability. In the past, Donovan has also linked the presence of trees to lower crime and healthier newborns.
• According to the Arbor National Mortgage & American Forests 83% of realtors believe that mature trees have a ‘strong or moderate impact’ on the salability of homes listed for under $150,000; on homes over $250,000, this perception increases to 98% 
• Management Information Services/ICMA says that landscaping, especially with trees, can increase property values as much as 20 percent. 

And, check out an awesome new app from The Davey Tree Expert Company, Tree$ense, to calculate the benefits of the trees on YOUR property.  "Tree$ense turns users into TREEconomists, who can qualify and quantify their trees’ benefits and place trees in the best positions in the landscape to maximize these perks, including how much storm water the trees will intercept, how much carbon dioxide they will sequester and how much air pollution they will reduce."

 Visit value.m.davey.com with your mobile device to access the tool.