Experts Reveal: Does Building a Pond Increase Property Value?

While adding a pond in your backyard enhances the beauty of your house, it can also add a large number of values to your property that you might not have considered. Does building a pond increase property value? Well, having a water feature in the yard usually attracts many potential buyers who are willing to pay a large amount.

When built correctly, ponds can provide water for livestock and wildlife, fishing, boating, swimming, fire protection, aesthetics, and higher land value. Before digging, identify what value you hope to derive from the pond and incorporate those features into a carefully planned project. Pre-project planning will reduce long-term maintenance and repairs and lead to a better final result.

Have you ever wondered how creating a backyard pond can increase your property value? If not, you will learn all about it now!

Does Building a Pond Increase Property Value?

Does Building a Pond Increase Property Value

Yes, it does. However, the amount of value depends highly on factors like quality work and beautiful design. It means you will still need a valuable area, excellent quality housework, and an amazing design to get the best value out of your property.

There are many debates about how much value a pond can add to your property. While some suggest that the price might increase up to 7-10%, others believe that the value depends highly on the location of your house.

For example, warm places like California or Florida rarely face snowing or freezing. So, if you have a house with a backyard pond, you are more likely to get a higher price for your property.

However, ponds located in regions that experience heavy snowfall can only be enjoyed in the summer or occasionally in the spring. Because of this, people looking to buy in these areas may see ponds as impractical and won't be interested in paying extra for them. Hence, your property will end up devaluing.

However, some factors decide how much value will be added to your property. First of all, the place where your pond is located. It's best to place it in your yard since, no matter what, you would want people to look at the beauty you have in your property.

The quality of the pond materials also plays an important role. Using high-quality products and installation will only raise the price. Pumps and filters will keep the pond water fresh and clean, attracting buyers willing to pay a good value.

Decorations with plants and rocks will enhance the beauty of your yard and make your property appreciated by others.

Why A Backyard Pond Increases Your Property Value?

Installing a pond in your backyard can greatly boost the value of your property

Installing a pond in your backyard can greatly boost the value of your property. However, have you ever thought about why and how it increases the value?

Think about areas near beaches. Who doesn't like to have a water source right beside their house? The same happens with a pond, which certainly attracts a large number of buyers.

Not only does a pond bring water into your life, but it also gives an aesthetic look to your house, eventually increasing your value. Also, it gives you an elegance and style in the neighborhood.

Buyers love the extra beauty of the house and the fact that it is unique in the area. Hence, they are ready to pay those extra bucks for your property. Also, you will get extra points if your house is in a populated area.

Moreover, you might get a rising value for where ponds are in a supply and demand position area. In that case, any kind of water feature will be considered to be a plus point for your property.

So, you can see that a pond affecting your property value depends highly on the location of your house. But whatever your location is, it will surely increase the value even by 1%.

Things to Consider When Building a Pond

Water Source

The water source for your pond can be the natural water table, seeps or springs, surface runoff, or a combination of any of these. Note that pumping water to supplement a pond can be expensive and affect the flow of any adjacent wells.

Soils

Landowners can excavate a small area before beginning a full-scale operation to assess the soil type fully. Three or four diggings per acre are adequate to assess the soil profile over the site, although more may be required if there are substantial variations in soil conditions.

The suitability of the pond location depends on the ability of the soils and shallow bedrock near the bottom of the pond to hold water. The bottom should contain a waterproof layer and be thick enough to prevent excessive seepage.

Clay and silty clays are excellent soil types for this purpose, while coarse-textured soils, such as sand, gravel, or sand-and-gravel mixes, are highly permeable and often unsuitable. Permeable soil types may be acceptable if they have a spring or seep.

Shape

Ponds can take on any geometric shape, including rectangles, circles, or ellipses. However, you can create a natural shape by fitting the contours of the natural landscape.

Identify major viewpoints from which the pond will be seen. Locate the pond to ensure that the major sight line crosses the longest portion of the pond.

Size

There are factors you need to consider before getting a pond on your property

People typically correlate size with surface water area, not water capacity. But a pond the size of a football field and a foot deep holds the same amount of water as a pond that is a quarter the size of a football field but 10 feet deep.

What Type of Pond Will You Build?

An excavated pond is dug into reasonably flat ground. This type of pond is best suited to locations where the water demand is small. Because excavated ponds can be built to expose a minimum water surface area in proportion to their volume, they are advantageous where evaporation losses are high, and the water source is primarily runoff during the wet season.

The simple design, compactness, low risk of damage from flood flow, and low maintenance requirements make them popular in many areas of the state.

An embankment pond is a pool of water that collects behind a dam. The surrounding areas may have slight to steep slopes. Embankment ponds are more complex than excavated ponds and may require an engineer to design them.

It's important to ensure water does not back onto an adjacent owner's property or into an area of specific concern and that no homes, buildings, or roads would be affected by a dam failure.

In a combination pond, excavated material is used to build the dam, saving time and money. An engineer may need to design the project and oversee construction.

What is Your Pond Worth?

Many people don't manage their ponds actively because they don't understand how valuable it is. It's always a good idea to ask, "How much is my pond worth?" Sure, you might not consider swimming in your pond, and it's too small to use a boat, but it still has more value than you might think. 

If you view the surface as just a barrier in your yard, you're missing the point. That pond has depth, with three dimensions to consider. A one-acre pond having an average depth of five feet holds 1,630,000 gallons. If all that water were above ground rather than below, it would look much more impressive in the landscape.

Water helps keep temperatures steady and creates a green environment around it. Nothing in the scenery is more important than water. It draws in animals and creates its unique ecosystem. Certain aspects of this ecosystem are more desirable than others. This is when management becomes crucial. You can take steps to manage a pond and experience its natural benefits.

Regarding value, real estate adjoining water has a higher value if it is maintained. Suppose it has some naturally occurring issues, like trash accumulation, algae overproduction, and unkempt vegetation along the edges, making it appear swampy.

In that case, it will negatively affect the property value. This is everyone's problem nearby since the lower-valued property will be utilized as a comparable property for appraisals.

Steps To Increase The Value Of Your Home With A Pond

you should know how to increase your home's value with a pond

Now that you have a clear idea of how and why a backward pond increases your property value, you should know how to increase your home's value with a pond.

Step 1: Choosing The Location

First, you will need to choose a place to build your pond that is open from all sides, has no obstacles, and can be easily seen from the outside. Make sure there are no trees beside the area.

Step 2: Think About The Size

After that, you must choose a pond size suitable for the entire yard. While something too big will seem inappropriate in the area, something too small will not be seen easily.

Step 3: Decorations

Adding extra decorations like fish, plants, and rocks will be another plus point for your whole water feature. However, ensure those things are compatible with your weather and region. Also, don't add things that you won't be able to maintain regularly.

Step 4: Filters & Pumps

Then come the filters and pumps. If you decide to install those, make sure you choose the ones of high quality. You can't imagine how much value they will add to your house. You can also invest in chemicals to maintain a healthy pH level and reduce algae and bacteria.

So, the best thing to do is to maintain a proper balance in the area, size, and weather. Also, add some decorations to make the yard look more attractive.

Conclusion

While building a pond can depend on your location and weather, it's usually a great investment in any area. If you are planning to have a pond on your property, we at Shilling Excavation can help! Please reach out to us today!