How Does Sod Increase the Value in a Home?

Sod Adds to Home Values

• Lawns may be politically incorrect in drought-afflicted regions, but those patches of neatly manicured green in front of homes are a key component of a home's curb appeal.
  In fact, a Michigan State University study found that sprucing up landscaping typically increases a home's value by as much as 11 percent, according to a report in the Rocky Mountain News. Putting in a new lawn produces a 400-percent return on the investment when a home is sold, according to a 2000 survey of Realtors cited in the same Rocky Mountain News article. Adding other vegetation --trees, flowers, vegetables -- returns half as much.
  
  

Lawn People

• What's driving Americans' apparent love affair with lawns? In his book "Lawn People," author Paul Robbins suggests vast patches of sod in front of homes is an "expression of American culture," and part of a "larger pattern of ecological conquest" that's been a critical component of the American zeitgeist since this country was discovered in 1492. "Covering a total area roughly the size of the state of Iowa," Robbins writes, "the lawn is one of the largest and fastest-growing landscapes in the United States."
  
  

Sod and the Environment

• Those who prefer native or drought-tolerant vegetation may beg to differ, but a good green lawn has ecological benefits. It sequesters carbon from the air and stores it in the soil, reducing carbon gasses. Still, reducing the footprint of lawns is often a wise choice, giving sod's heavy water demand and pollution from chemicals and gas-powered lawn mowers. Lawns can be scaled back in size and ringed with trees, bushes or even artfully arranged rocks. The end result is those patches of green will stand out more.