Pro Takes: Which Outdoor Improvements Top Popularity, Resale Trends?
Outdoor kitchens help homes sell faster and for more money.
For many Americans – myself among them – Memorial Day Weekend marks the start of the summer season. This is the time of year when we start enjoying our outdoor spaces, if we have any. It's also a time when we may be working on enhancing them, having completed our tax returns. Which upgrades offer the greatest returns on investment? According to real estate platform Zillow, 'Functional outdoor space continues to help homes sell for more.' In fact, the firm's research reports home sale bumps of $10,000 for improving these spaces. Here's what you might expect, especially if you live in a region with nearly year-round outdoor living potential.
Zillow reached its conclusions by analyzing keywords of more than 2 million homes listed for sale in 2024. 'New Zillow research finds outdoor TVs, outdoor showers and outdoor kitchens can help homes sell for as much as 3.1% more than expected,' commented a March 2024 blog post. 'That's the highest sale price premium of all 359 features Zillow analyzed across nearly 1 million home sales in 2023.' The Zillow study specifically highlighted outdoor showers helping homes sell for 2.8% more and outdoor kitchens and bluestone patios boosting resale value by 2.2%.' Those figures may not seem significant, until you factor in sales prices for many of the most competitive markets exceeding $1 million price tags on typical suburban homes. That's true in my San Diego market. It may be in yours too.
The post also mentioned that some features, especially trends highlighted on TikTok, helped homes sell almost a week faster. 'Viral home features that appeal to younger first-time buyers can help a home sell up to six days faster than expected,' the post noted, though it should be pointed out that younger buyers struggle to afford homes and save for down payments. If your home is in a community with many qualified young home shoppers, this is definitely something to keep in mind.
Bottom line, according to Zillow: 'Six of the top 10 features that help homes sell for more are outdoor features, signaling that the pandemic-era demand for functional outdoor space remains,' the post continued.
The popular pro search platform Yelp supports the popularity of outdoor enhancements. In its 2025 Summer Homes & Outdoor Trends Report, the site saw a 376% jump in gardener searches and a massive 875% spike in artificial turf providers. There were also intriguing jumps in homesteading requests. 'With food prices climbing, interest in self-sufficiency is surging—planting a nursery (+58%), building a chicken coop (+163%), and searching for live chickens (+424%) are also on the rise,' the report concluded.
Home improvement platform Houzz predicted in November that outdoor cooking will be one of its top 10 home trends for 2025, noting that 90% of outdoor living space renovations include a grill. Notably though, it added, 'But we're seeing homeowners embrace other outdoor cooking methods as well. In addition to traditional grills, homeowners are adding pizza ovens, smokers, ceramic kamado-style barbecues and Argentinian-style gaucho grills that use wood or charcoal.' As Zillow shared in its report, that outdoor kitchen can bring resale returns. But it might now need more than a basic grill to quench home shoppers' taste for outdoor dining!
Zillow suggests highlighting resale-enhancing features in a listing if a home has them, but offers a caution: 'Keep in mind that this analysis did not examine the ROI of installing any of these individual features solely for resale. Instead, these features should be viewed as signals about the perceived quality of a home and everything else it has going for it. For example, an outdoor shower could signal that a home is near the beach or has a pool, and that may be what's ultimately driving up the sale price.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNBC
12 minutes ago
- CNBC
Americans are losing spending power, say researchers: Most can no longer afford a 'minimal quality of life'
In 2023, about 11% of Americans officially lived in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Even more struggle financially, though — and the share may be higher than you think. Many of the headline economic stats you see are based on "survival indexes," says Gene Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, and don't reflect Americans' full financial picture. "What people are thinking about — a real shared prosperity — is not, 'I can survive,' but, 'What does it take to live a middle-class life?'" he says. "'What does it take to be on the first rung, at least, of the American dream?'" To that end, LISEP developed a "Minimal Quality of Life Index," which takes into account not only essentials, such as food and shelter, but also the costs living a fulfilling life with a chance at upward mobility. Food costs in the model, for example, include occasional trips to casual restaurants as well as the cost of hosting an annual holiday meal. The index factors in basic leisure costs, such as cable and streaming subscriptions, and trips to the six movies and two MLB games per year in the cheap seats. According to LISEP's analysis, most Americans don't meet that standard. In 2023, the bottom 60% of households by income fell well short of the threshold for a minimal quality of life. That's largely because wages have failed to keep up with rising costs, the researchers say. Medical premiums rose 301% from 2001 to 2023, they note, while travel expenses were up 170%. Rent grew by 131%. The cost of raising children, which includes saving for higher education, by LISEP's estimates, grew by 107%. With wages failing to keep pace, LISEP finds that consumers' real spending power decreased by 4%, on average, over that period. Americans who fall short of the minimal quality of life costs may sink into debt or have to forego important financial planning steps, such as saving for college or investing for retirement, to afford modest discretionary expenses such as a gym membership or an occasional vacation. For families looking to get on the path to upward mobility, "it is hard to give advice without being patronizing," says Kevin Brady, a certified financial planner with Wealthspire Advisors. If your budget is stretched thin and you have mouths to feed, there's only so much financial maneuvering that can help. That said, there are a couple key things you can do to lower your living costs and help you put more money toward your goals. You may feel guilty about spending on some of the things that bring you or your family joy, but those small luxuries likely don't break your budget. "I get tired of the 'Stop your Starbucks latte habit' [advice], because in reality it's not people's fault," says Laura Lynch, a CFP and founder of The Tiny House Adviser. "The structures around us have created an expectation of a lifestyle that is increasingly becoming unreachable for folks." You're better off focusing on the major tentpoles of your budget, experts say: Housing, transportation and food costs. Marcos Segrera, a CFP and principal at Evensky & Katz/Foldes Wealth Management, calls these the "Big Three," and attacking them may involve some creativity. "This might mean refinancing a mortgage, choosing a more fuel-efficient or used car, or embracing meal planning to cut down on food waste and expensive takeout," he says. You may want to consider outside-the box solutions to lowering your housing costs, says Lynch. "Co-housing, tiny homes, [accessory dwelling units], multi-generational ownership are all ways to share expenses, resources and create wealth," she says. It's easier to fund your financial goals — paying down debt, building an emergency fund, investing for the future — if there is more money to go around. So "one other piece of advice I have here is to not just focus on expenses, but think more about growing your income however possible," says Brady. "Again, it is easy to say but harder to do this." Boosting your income may mean asking for a raise or finding a different job altogether. Workers who switched companies in May earned an average pay bump of 7%, according to data from ADP. It may make sense to look for inexpensive ways to increase your workplace skills or to familiarize yourself with emerging technologies, such as AI, Brady says. You may even think about picking up a side hustle. You may find it less difficult, in the end, to bring in more money than to cut back on what you provide for the people you love. "Look at both sides, not just spending," says Brady. "Because with a young family, that might be hard to change."
Yahoo
17 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Tariff-Driven Economic Anxiety Eased In June
Consumer sentiment improved for the first time in six months in June, as potential trade deals eased fears that President Donald Trump's tariffs will push up inflation. Sentiment remained at low levels by historic standards according to the index. Professional forecasters have also pared back earlier estimates for how much damage Trump's tariffs will do to the are less worried that President Donald Trump's tariff campaign will push up prices, though American consumers remain pessimistic by historical University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment, a survey of how people feel about the economy and their finances, rose in June for the first time in six months, the university said Friday. The index rose 16% in June compared to May, according to a preliminary survey, but was still 20% below its level in December 2024. At a level of 60.5 in June, the index is still below the typical range of about 100 before the about most aspects of the economy, including inflation, improved amid news about trade talks possibly defusing the high tariffs that Trump has imposed in recent months. Economists closely watch measures of how people feel about the economy because sentiment can affect how much people are willing to spend. Consumer spending is the cornerstone of the economy, making up about 68% of the GDP.'It's welcome news to see a pickup in consumer sentiment after months of decline," Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, wrote in a commentary. "Americans are relieved to see President Trump paring back his trade war and tariffs, but they remain on high alert for price increases at the store and gas pump." The decreased consumer pessimism echoes that of professional economists, many of whom have pared back their projections for how much damage Trump's tariffs will cause the economy. Economists at Oxford Economics reduced their projected chances of a recession in the next year to 35% Thursday, though still over the baseline 15% chance of a recession in any given measures of inflation have been milder than expected, and the job market has stayed resilient. Still, forecasters are bracing for the tariffs to drag down employment and push up inflation later in the year, as more companies pass along the cost of the import taxes on to customers. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
US consumer sentiment rises for first time this year as 'shock' of high tariffs wears off
Consumers are starting to feel better about the trajectory of the US economy as President Trump has dialed back some of his most aggressive stances on tariffs and Americans come to terms with the economic reality that tariffs are here to stay. The latest University of Michigan survey released Friday showed sentiment increased for the first time since December 2024, with the index rising to a reading of 60.5, above the 52.2 seen last month and the 53.6 expected by economists. The increase came after May recorded one of the lowest readings on record. "Consumers appear to have settled somewhat from the shock of the extremely high tariffs announced in April and the policy volatility seen in the weeks that followed," Survey of Consumers director Joanne Hsu wrote in the release. Pessimism over the inflation outlook lessened in June, as one-year inflation expectations plunged to 5.1% from the more than four-decade high of 6.6% reached in May. Long-run inflation expectations, which track expectations over the next five to 10 years, also fell, hitting 4.1% in June, down from 4.2% in May. Read more: What is consumer confidence, and why does it matter? Still, Hsu noted that consumer views of business conditions, personal finances, labor markets, stock markets, and buying conditions for big-ticket items all remain below where they were in December. "Despite this month's notable improvement, consumers remain guarded and concerned about the trajectory of the economy," Hsu said. In April, the estimated US effective tariff rate peaked around 27%, significantly higher than the 2.5% rate entering the year. But following pauses on many of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs and a 90-day pause on duties placed on China, JPMorgan now estimates the US effective tariff rate is closer to 14%. The rise in the University of Michigan's June survey follows a similar signal from May's Consumer Confidence reading from The Conference Board. The latest index reading from The Conference Board was 98 in May, well above the 85.7 seen in April and the 87.1 economists had expected. The expectations index surged off its 13-year low seen in April, reaching 72.8 in May, far above the 55.4 in the month prior. This marked the largest month-over-month increase for that metric since May 2009. Read more: What Trump's tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet In a research published on June 6, Goldman Sachs chief US equity strategist David Kostin pointed out that so-called soft economic data, which covers data points like consumer surveys, usually hits its cycle bottom before hard economic data, like monthly readings on inflation or jobs. Kostin's work shows the S&P 500 typically will follow the soft data's return higher, even if hard economic data continues to move lower. "S&P 500 returns are currently more correlated with soft data than hard data," wrote Kostin, who projects the S&P 500 will hit 6,500 in the next 12 months. "If the recovery in soft data is sustained, it should support equity returns even as hard data weaken." Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
