Does a Fence Increase Home Value?

Home improvement projects can be a tricky balancing act of making changes that both please you personally, but also won’t hurt the value of your home when the time comes to sell.  Homeowners add fences for a variety of reasons: privacy, pets, aesthetics, security, etc.  However, will adding that fence to your property hurt or help the resale value of your home?

National realtor Century 21 lists adding a fence as one of the top 10 ways to add value to your home in this article they published.  Home values site Zillow has multiple folks posting to their forums asking this very question.  Here is one example from Zillow with multiple replies with most folks chiming it that a fence is beneficial.  Homes.com also has a great article you can read here that echoes the sentiment of having a fence can add value to potential home buyers.  You can search further online and find that many home sites will agree that having a fence is rarely a detractor to home buyers and a ‘must have’ for many of them.

Let’s take a look at why adding that fence to your home may not only make you happy, but potential home buyers going forward.

A Fence Keeps the Kids and Pets Enclosed in the Yard

This is probably the number one reason potential home buyers will have a fence on their ‘must have’ list for a new home.  A fence can provide some piece of mind that the kids or the family dog won’t be running out into the street.  It keeps both the kids and dogs contained so you can more easily keep an eye on them.

A Fence also Keeps the Kids and Pets Out of Your Yard

On the flip side, a fence can also make sure the neighborhood kids and dogs aren’t running amok in your yard too.  A fence will mean that you won’t have to worry about any errant dog waste from unmindful neighbors.  It also means that your kids and dogs are protected from any loose dogs or animals getting into your yard and interacting with them as well.

A Fence can Protect Landscaping and Gardening

A fence can make sure that your garden isn’t being ravaged by deer or other harmful wild animals.  It also makes sure that the neighborhood kids aren’t getting into your new water feature.  Having the fence helps give a defined border to your landscaping and helps keep any unwanted visitors from damaging your yard.  We’ve had many people that added a fence just to keep people from shortcutting through their yard on foot or bike and killing grass.

A Fence can Aesthetically Define a Space within the Yard

A fence doesn’t always have to enclose the entire property.  It can also be a small patio enclosure or garden area that you want to set off from the rest of the yard.  A decorative fence will not only define the area as separate from the rest of the yard, but also protect it.  A beautiful fence can be used to make a statement in a front yard entry way to give your home a warm and welcoming appearance.

A Fence Clearly Defines Your Property Line

We’ve run into many folks wanting to put a fence in only to find out the neighbors shed was built over their property by 4ft.  Or a neighbor cut down a tree that technically was on your property.  These sound like silly things that could be easily avoided, but you would be surprised how many end up in expensive court battles over stuff like this.  Having a fence that is installed properly on your property lines helps make sure you and any future homeowners will not have to worry about these kind of situations.

In Conclusion…

How much value a given home improvement project will add (or detract) from the value of your home is difficult to quantify.  The local home market, trends in the industry and the type of project can all affect the value of a home improvement project.  However, its a pretty safe bet that installing a fence on your property will more likely add value and curb appeal rather than detract from it.