Outdoor Spaces Bring In Buyers and Bucks Today's homeowners want real landscaping, and they're willing to pay for it.

By Richard Wall This patio area epitomizes outdoor living spaces. Greenville, S.C., home builder Jon Seppala learned about the power of landscaping and outdoor spaces the hard way. "Years ago we built nice custom homes and tried to save money on landscaping, and we found that we couldn't get people into the homes," says Seppala, president of Action Builders. From mid-market homes to those costing $1 million plus, buyers want more outdoor spaces and landscaping — and they want them finished before they move in. Though outdoor features usually are more of a selling point than a revenue generator, their contribution to the bottom line can be substantial. This new focus is changing the way many builders do business. Love at first sight The notion of curb appeal still holds. However, now the curb extends to the backyard fence. "Backyards and outdoor patios have to be much more substantial than in the past," says Seppala. "Built-in grills, outdoor fireplaces, gazebos — people are looking for these features. We've had people who have fallen in love with the house and have decided to buy before they walked in the front door." When Keller Homes in Colorado Springs, Colo., conceived its two La Bellezza developments of courtyard villas, the managers incorporated architecture, land planning and landscape architecture from the start. "We had an idea that people were looking for quality outdoor living areas," says Bernie Costello, vice president of architecture for Keller. "That indoor-outdoor relationship is critical. I think it's something people might not fully relate to in a marketing brochure, but in going through a finished home, they really relate to it. It's a big aspect of differentiating ourselves in the market, and I think it continues to help us in this downturn market." In the Granite Park development in the granite dells area outside Prescott, Ariz., designer and managing member Alan Snyder integrates million-dollar-plus homes into small canyons. He uses xeriscape landscaping with native plants; puts hot tubs in billion-year-old rock; lays backyard patios on the second story; runs decks into rock walls; and plans to put a swimming pool in a canyon. "We are always thinking about how we can utilize those outdoor areas," says Snyder. "We have private outdoor living spaces where you are completely hidden away from the world. Others have a lookout space over the dells. We work with each homeowner, and for some people outdoor spaces are the complete focus of our design." Digging out profits Many of Snyder's Granite Park homes have the finest in outdoor furnishings and amenities. Each home is different, but he says outdoor spaces and landscaping easily account for 10 percent of the homes' value — and quite a bit more, in some cases. Action Builders' custom homes in Greenville hold as much as 15 percent of their total value in outdoor features and landscaping. "As far as our markup goes, it's in line with what we have on the home in general, maybe a little bit better," says Seppala. "Our average markup is 15 percent, whereas on the outdoor living spaces, we may get up to 20 percent. If it's a half-million dollar home and they're spending $75,000 to $100,000 on the outside, it becomes a profitable thing to do." At La Bellezza in Colorado Springs, Costello says, they're putting about 10 percent of the home's value into landscaping alone, although it's difficult to say when landscaping ends and outdoor living spaces begin. "Those boundaries are blurred, because landscaping and outdoor spaces are integral to the whole design, which features courtyards and patios."   1 | 2  NEXT