Indoor-Outdoor Living, Pandemic Style

Previously a mere accessory to the main event of a house for sale, a good yard will now sell the house. It frequently tops a buyers’ wish-list, and the back yard is often the first thing buyers want to see when visiting a house. These are some of my recent listings and sales that prioritized and highlighted fresh-air living spaces.

In our new reality of sharing life with Covid-19, outdoor space is more sought-after and coveted than ever before. Prized al fresco corners of the outdoor world offer fresh air along with the ability for safe social contact which we have all become thirsty for — and can be a salvation from virus transmission. Having coffee or wine with friends from six feet apart is the new normal, and is much safer and more enjoyable outdoors.

Homes with beautiful gardens and useable yards are fetching often shocking price premiums, and even unkempt or neglected yards have become a winning ticket as buyers envision spaces for running around, dining, cozying up with a book, growing food, hanging a hammock, playing corn toss or croquet, and most popular of all, Zooming in natural light with a pretty backdrop. Back yard swimming pools have suddenly become desirable, when in past years they were considered liabilities. Our yards are our lifeline, and shopping at nurseries has replaced brunch as the go-to weekend activity as people hatched into gardeners virtually overnight.