Portland Home Selling Tips: Preparing Your Yard in the Fall

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It’s that time of year again in the Northwest, the school bells are ringing and we begin to revaluate the quality of our rain gear. Fall in the Portland is a time of preparing and planning. As the average Portland home prices are rising, up 14% from the same time last year, it is also a time where we typically start preparing for a spring sale. One of the best and cost effective ways to begin to prepare your home for sale is to tend to our yards now. With the soil still warm from summer, and the fresh rain, roots grow faster and we are able to give our foliage a head start on next year’s growth.

Portland home selling tip: late summer is harsh on our lawns and this time of year is ideal for restoration. If you haven’t dethatched your lawn in the past year, now is the time to do so. The thatch is the layer of both living and dead stems and roots between the green blades of grass and the soil surface. A layer less than ½ inch thick of thatch can be beneficial as it assists in limiting weed germination, reducing water evaporation as well as protecting form frost damage. A thick layer prevents water, air and nutrients from penetrating the soil, while also providing a harbor for insects and fungal growth. A stiff rake pulled across the grass, bringing the thatch to the surface, on a pleasant afternoon will do wonders for your grass and prepare the grass to accept new seeding if necessary. If your grass is patchy or thinning, overseed generously after a thin layer of compost (no woody chunks), and add fertilizer and lime. There are some great resources and nurseries in Portland to help you match your grass and select safe fertilizers for your situation.

Portland home selling tip: late September/early October is also the beginning of the autumn planting season for trees, shrubs and fruit. Planting now results in better roots for the summer, as the soil is more workable and easier on the plants, with shorter days. This is also the ideal time to move established shrubs if you have to, though remember that moving is hard on plants but you will have more success if they are small or recently planted. Enjoy the color changes of your trees and shrubs, there is no need to prune them yet, allow the leaves to fall before evaluating which trees may need this later.

There are many aspects to making the decision to buy and or sell a home. The Portland real estate market continues to change for the positive, as previously mentioned, average sale prices are up, days on the market are down, and there are more closings than last year at this time. As we all prepare for the real estate market to take a turn over the next few months, spending the time to prepare the outer aesthetics not only makes the home more appealing but gives us a chance to get out one last time before we go into our hibernation period, all to common to Portland residents. Any questions?

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