Native Plants Are Now a Real Estate Issue: Not Just an Ecological One

For years, we at Long Island Conservation Alliance made the case for native landscaping in terms of birds, pollinators, and clean water. All still true. But in the New York metro market, there’s now a harder-nosed argument too: what’s growing on your property affects what it’s worth.

The Seller’s Case

Landscaping has long been one of the highest-ROI improvements a homeowner can make. The American Society of Landscape Architects estimates that investing in landscaping can boost a home’s value by as much as 15–20%.[^1] A University of Vermont study found that homes with good landscaping can attract up to a 14% increase in resale value and sell up to six weeks faster.[^2]

Increasingly, “good landscaping” means native. Buyers consistently prefer low-maintenance yards, and native plants top the list of recommended improvements precisely because they thrive with less water and less care.[^1] Real estate professionals now point to sustainable practices, such as native plantings and water-efficient irrigation, as adding a distinct layer of value for environmentally conscious buyers.[^3] And here on Long Island, where mature trees frame our older neighborhoods, realtors have long recognized that attractive landscaping, especially trees, can raise property values by as much as 20%.[^4]

The Buyer’s Case, and the Questions Buyers Should Be Asking

Invasive plants have gone from a gardener’s headache to a due-diligence item. Consider running bamboo. New York State added running bamboo to its invasive species list in 2013, banning its sale, transportation, or planting.[^5] Towns and villages across Long Island, including Smithtown, Huntington, Babylon, Brookhaven, Oyster Bay, North Hempstead, and Hempstead, have adopted local laws prohibiting or regulating it to protect neighboring properties.[^6]

Why? Bamboo rhizomes have buckled driveways, punctured swimming pool walls, and compromised septic systems and utility lines.[^7] Professional removal can run from roughly $5,000 for a simple job to $35,000 to $40,000 for a serious infestation.[^8] Overseas, this is already priced into real estate transactions: UK mortgage lenders will often refuse to lend on a property with live Japanese knotweed, and most buildings insurance won’t cover the damage it causes.[^9] American lenders aren’t there yet, but the direction of travel is clear.

A smart buyer walking a metro-area property today should be asking:

• Is there Japanese knotweed, running bamboo, English ivy, or porcelain berry on this parcel, or on the neighbor’s?
• Has the seller had any infestation professionally treated, and is there documentation?
• Does the town or village have a bamboo or invasive-plant ordinance, and am I inheriting a legal obligation under it?

The Maintenance Math

A conventional yard of turf grass and non-native nursery stock is a recurring bill. Homeowners typically spend 100–500 per service cycle on basic lawn care,[^10] and full-service care for a one-acre lawn typically runs 2,500–6,000 per year.[^11] Then add water: the EPA estimates that about 30% of the average American household’s water use goes outdoors, and more than half of that goes to watering lawns and gardens.[^12]

By contrast, the EPA’s WaterSense program finds that landscaping with native or climate-adapted species reduces outdoor water use by 20 to 50 percent.[^13] One widely cited comparison puts 20-year maintenance costs at roughly $3,000 per acre for native plantings versus $20,000 for non-native.[^14]

This is the same math behind LIC’s own restoration work: across our projects, native plantings have already saved an estimated 26+ million gallons of water and $180,000+ in maintenance costs a year, savings that scale from a single acre to a single yard.

The Takeaway

A native landscape is an asset that appreciates. An invasive infestation is a liability that compounds. On Long Island, where our lots are small and our aquifer is shared, the smartest thing you can plant may be what belonged here all along.

Plant native. Remove the invasive. Conserve our lands.

Want help identifying what’s growing on your property, or want to bring a native planting project to your yard, school, or community? Reach out to us at info@longislandconservationalliance.org.

Long Island Conservation Alliance (LIC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to planting native, removing the invasive, and conserving Long Island’s lands and waters, from the East River to Montauk Point.

Sources

1. Redfin, “Does Landscaping Increase Home Value? Here’s What You Should Know”: https://www.redfin.com/blog/does-landscaping-increase-home-value/
2. My Home Park, “Native Plants Increase Home Value” (citing University of Vermont study): https://www.myhomepark.com/blog/native-plants-increase-home-value
3. House Beautiful via AOL, “These Landscaping Moves Can Add Thousands to Your Home’s Value”: https://www.aol.com/landscaping-moves-add-thousands-homes-155100778.html
4. National Wildlife Federation, “Backyard Habitat: Making Dollars and Sense In Your Yard”: https://www.nwf.org/Magazines/National-Wildlife/2011/Making-Dollars-and-Sense
5. Greater Long Island, “Suffolk Closeup: Long Islanders continue to rally against bamboo”: https://greaterlongisland.com/14133-suffolk-closeup-long-islanders-continue-to-rally-against-bamboo/
6. Sultan v. King, 2021 NY Slip Op 21227 (citing Town of Huntington Code Ch. 156A; Town of Babylon Code Ch. 145; Town of Smithtown Code §221-4; Town of Oyster Bay Code Ch. 135, Art. VIII; Town of North Hempstead Code Ch. 67; Town of Hempstead Code §128-61.B(3)): https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/other-courts/2021/2021-ny-slip-op-21227.html
7. Farrell Fritz, “Long Island Towns and Villages Move to Regulate Bamboo,” Long Island Land Use and Zoning blog: https://www.lilanduseandzoning.com/2012/09/11/several-long-island-municipalities-adopt-bamboo-restrictions/
8. News 12, “Bamboo Ban: Towns Enact Rules Surrounding Invasive Bamboo Plants”: https://longisland.news12.com/bamboo-ban-towns-enact-rules-surrounding-evasive-bamboo-plants
9. Unbiased, “The truth about Japanese knotweed”: https://www.unbiased.co.uk/news/mortgages-property/the-truth-about-japanese-knotweed
10. HomeAdvisor, “How Much Does Lawn Care and Mowing Cost?”: https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/lawn-and-garden/maintain-a-lawn/
11. WhatGrassIsThis, “Lawn Mowing Cost Calculator: Per-Visit + Annual Prices”: https://whatgrassisthis.com/tools/lawn-cost-estimator
12. U.S. EPA WaterSense, “Outdoor Water Use in the United States”: https://19january2017snapshot.epa.gov/www3/watersense/pubs/outdoor.html
13. U.S. EPA WaterSense, “Outdoor Water Use in the United States” fact sheet (EPA-832-F-06-005): https://www.gswsa.com/gswsa_public_site/userfiles/file/outdoor_water_use_fact_sheet.pdf
14. Farm Bureau Financial Services, “6 Surprising Effects of Landscaping on Property Values”: https://www.fbfs.com/learning-center/5-surprising-ways-landscaping-