Outdoor amenities can set your homeowners association (HOA) apart and attract potential homebuyers. HOA residents value outdoor amenities that improve their quality of life — such as community pools, play areas and fitness facilities — and report that these amenities make their dues worth paying.
Outdoor amenities add value to your property, drawing in new homebuyers and encouraging the retention of your best residents. Keep reading to learn how outdoor amenities can attract homebuyers to your HOA.
15 HOA Amenity Ideas to Attract Potential Homebuyers
Here are 15 exciting HOA amenities. We’ll share how your HOA can maximize each type of amenity to attract homebuyers.
1. Landscaping
Landscaping is one of the most popular types of outdoor amenities for HOAs. In the United States, around 52% of HOAs include landscaping amenities. These spaces are attractive to homeowners who enjoy taking relaxing walks among the flowers and playing family games on the grass.
Landscaping ideas for HOAs include:
- Flowers: From classic petunias and marigolds to colorful sunflowers, tulips and roses, flowers bring HOA landscaping to life.
- Topiary: Hire a professional topiarist to sculpt trees and shrubs into artistic and ornamental shapes.
- Lawns: Keep your grass a healthy green with regular irrigation, fertilizer and weed control.
- Trees: You can plant rows of trees along paths and in courtyard gardens to improve your HOA’s air quality and aesthetics.
- Hardscaping: Decorative sculptures, pebbles, gravel and wooden pieces add texture and interest to the landscaping.
Enhance the beauty of your HOA’s landscaping with decorative pergolas, or install shade structures to protect residents from the sun. Shade structures allow residents to pause on their walks and admire your HOA’s placid scenery.
2. Community Pools
Swimming pools offer endless opportunities for family fun, fitness and refreshment, especially during the summer months. They’re a staple outdoor amenity, with 38% of American HOAs having a community pool.
Swimming is a part of many adults’ daily fitness routines, and children can spend hours playing in the pool with family or friends. The popularity of swimming pools means potential homeowners are likely to inquire about whether your HOA has one. Residents of all ages will be thrilled if they learn that you do!
Add a shade structure, such as a four-point sail shade structure, to shelter residents from the sun’s rays as they relax poolside.
3. Water Features
Water features range from elaborate, eye-catching installments to subtle, soothing landscape features. Their limitless design possibilities make them superb for creating memorable aesthetics that distinguish your HOA.
The benefits of water features extend beyond their beauty. Viewing water reduces physical stress markers and improves mental health. The sight and sounds of running water will calm potential homebuyers’ minds and delight their senses.
Provide shade structures near the water features to create a tranquil, shady space for residents to relax and enjoy the beauty of the water.
4. Outdoor Playgrounds
Many potential homebuyers have families and are looking for a space where their children can play outdoors. Providing this space is essential to persuading many prospective buyers.
An outdoor playground can help your HOA stay competitive — only 39% of U.S. HOAs have play areas for children. Investing in reliable playground equipment and decorating the facilities with striking, child-friendly aesthetics will help your HOA stand out.
Playgrounds have many benefits for children that your HOA can promote to parents, including the following:
- Time outdoors
- Physical exercise
- Motor skills development
- Interpersonal skills practice
- Opportunities to form friendships
- Space for imaginative play
- Healthy stress relief
Remember that adults will want to supervise their children on the playground. Installing a shade structure allows them to watch the fun in comfort. You can also cover the entire playground with a large shade structure to protect children from the sun and keep playtime going through the midday heat.
5. Community Parks
Community parks offer an attractive environment for residents to enjoy outdoor walks, family games and relaxation. They can also accommodate other amenities like a playground or picnic area while leaving plenty of room for walking, jogging or socializing. Enhance your park with lush landscaping for a vibrant, natural aesthetic.
Outdoor benches and tables sheltered by shade canopies will make the park an appealing space for homebuyers to enjoy at any time of day.
6. Dog Parks
American families love their pets. That’s why 32% of HOAs have pet-friendly outdoor spaces like dog parks.
Make your HOA attractive to dog lovers by building an off-leash dog park with plenty of room for dogs of all breeds and sizes to run around. Organizing dog socials, puppy classes or obstacle course challenges in the dog park can create an exciting canine-friendly community. This dedicated space for dogs to play and exercise gives them a healthy outlet for their energy, helping them behave well throughout the day.
Keeping this space separate from the general community park gives dogs more room for fun without affecting residents who may not be dog people. Dog parks are also best situated some distance from homes so that playful barks can ring out without disrupting the peaceful atmosphere.
For the ideal dog park experience, supply shady shelters for dog owners to watch the four-legged fun unfold.
7. Outdoor Fitness Stations
Many HOAs offer fitness centers for their residents, which are usually indoor facilities. An indoor gym is a great addition to any community, but your HOA can take fitness beyond the gym walls with outdoor fitness stations.
Kit out these fitness stations with equipment like:
- Bars of different heights for calisthenic exercise.
- Heavy bags for boxing and kickboxing.
- Gymnastic rings and other versatile equipment.
Outdoor fitness stations will appeal to exercise enthusiasts and average homebuyers who want to improve their health. These spaces make fitness fun, affordable and accessible. For optimal accessibility, provide equipment for people of different builds and fitness levels as well as pieces that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Residents will enjoy working out while breathing fresh air amid scenic landscaping. You can improve their experience even further with a shade canopy that shelters athletes from heat and UV rays.
8. Sports Facilities
Many homeowners like to stay fit, have fun and socialize through sports, making sports facilities an excellent amenity option for your HOA.
Tennis and basketball courts are popular additions, but the possibilities are endless. Your HOA could become known for baseball batting cages, racquetball courts or a miniature golf course!
The sun is a critical factor to keep in mind when planning your HOA sports facilities. Extended UV exposure can degrade equipment and pose health risks to players and spectators. Provide a shade structure to protect equipment and shield people from the sun as they enjoy the fun and games.
9. Walking, Hiking or Biking Trails
Walking trails offer a great way to promote active lifestyles and appreciation for the outdoors in your HOA. They are attractive prospects to homebuyers keen on walking for exercise or leisure.
HOAs with sufficient space and appropriate terrain could also build trails suited to hiking or cycling. Trail surfaces could be earth, grass or concrete. Line paths with plants, pebbles or other markers to keep residents on track.
Installing small shade structures along the trails offers comfort for those pausing to rest or take in the scenery. Consider small benches under the shelter of umbrella shade structures.
10. Outdoor Restaurant Seating
All this exercise is bound to work up an appetite! Even residents who do not use your HOA’s fitness amenities will appreciate a sumptuous dining experience right there in their community. Opening a restaurant with outdoor dining space makes your HOA mouthwateringly attractive to potential homebuyers.
Open-air dining offers patrons a distinctive ambience, whether they enjoy a sunrise breakfast, lunch accompanied by birdsong, a scenic happy hour or supper by starlight. Your HOA could start its own eatery or rent out a space to an independent restaurant. Either way, a restaurant can become an additional revenue source for your HOA and tantalize homebuyers with convenient dining.
A shade structure is essential for daytime dining to keep UV rays at bay. Choose a custom design and color combination that suits your restaurant and HOA’s aesthetics.
11. Picnic and Barbecue Areas
For residents eager to prepare their own meals and enjoy them outdoors, your HOA can supply community picnic and barbecue areas.
These spaces allow family and friends to socialize over food in a fun outdoor environment. They also encourage residents to form good neighborly relationships. These relationships create a warm, welcoming community that potential homebuyers will be excited to join.
Make sure to supply the essentials, including:
- Ample lawn space.
- Picnic tables.
- Grill stations.
Beyond the basics, your HOA could generate extra revenue by providing additional supplies, such as:
- Wood or charcoal for grills.
- Disposable cutlery, plates and cups.
- Picnic basket rentals.
- Picnic blanket rentals.
Picnic and barbecue areas also need adequate shade for bigger groups to gather and enjoy themselves. Choose a shade structure that’s large enough to cover the entire communal area. Alternatively, opt for several smaller structures to create a separate shady space for each family.
12. Community Produce Gardens
Your HOA can promote health and sustainability while adding value for potential homebuyers with a community produce garden.
Set aside a designated area with quality soil for residents to grow their own fruits and vegetables, which everyone can share. Set up a sprinkler system to give each section the moisture it needs. Consider adding pots, markers and decorative features. For added revenue, you can open a small gardening shop or stand to sell seeds and gardening supplies.
Green-thumbed and eco-minded residents will be thrilled to contribute to the communal produce garden. Parents will relish the chance to bond with their children while teaching them to care for plants. Everyone will enjoy the nutritious results!
Both people and plants need sunlight to thrive but are vulnerable to extreme sun exposure. Small shade structures can create space for lower-light plants requiring less direct sunlight. A shaded bench can also be a pleasant spot for people to admire the growing goodies and rest from gardening tasks.
13. Parking Areas
Designated parking spaces for residents and visitors are crucial for any HOA looking to attract homebuyers. Prospective buyers want ample vehicle space and convenient parking for friends and family who visit them.
You can enhance the value of a parking area by installing cantilever shade structures. These structures optimize freedom of movement for people and vehicles, making it easier and more convenient to access sheltered parking.
Shaded parking will impress residents and visitors while attracting potential homebuyers.
14. Security Measures
Potential homebuyers want to know that they and their families will be as safe as possible when moving into an HOA community. Security amenities could be the decisive factor for homebuyers comparing your HOA to another community.
Protect residents with a few crucial measures, such as:
- Perimeter gates.
- Guarded entrances.
- Alarm systems.
- Surveillance cameras.
- Security patrols.
These security features will give residents peace of mind and better ensure they feel comfortable where it matters most — at home.
15. Eco-Friendly Solutions
There are many ways to make your HOA community more sustainable and attract environmentally conscious homebuyers.
Eco-friendly amenities for HOAs include:
- Solar panels.
- Recycling bins.
- Compost bins.
- Rainwater collections.
- Water-conserving sprinklers.
- LED lighting.
- Electric vehicle charging stations.
Your HOA can also embrace renewable energy by installing solar panel shade canopies. These structures protect residents from UV rays while harnessing the sun’s power to generate electricity.
Solar shade structures are a practical, eco-friendly solution that makes financial sense. Your HOA can use this energy to power its facilities, offsetting homeowners’ utility costs. Plus, solar shade structures can qualify for tax credits and may generate extra power that your HOA can sell to the grid.
Invest in Shade Solutions to Attract Homebuyers to Your HOA
New HOAs form in the U.S. every year, which indicates a growing demand for distinguishing amenities. Outdoor amenities add value and create unique selling points, making your HOA stand out to potential homebuyers.
Full enjoyment of these amenities depends on having shade and shelter available. That’s where USA SHADE comes in.
USA SHADE is an industry-leading provider of shade structures with expertise in design, manufacture and installation. We provide quality shade structures for HOA communities nationwide.
Ready to discover unlimited possibilities for shade? Our free and straightforward product builder predesign tool allows your HOA to choose from a range of shade structure styles, colors and fabrics while interacting with a live 3D model of each design. Once satisfied with a product, your HOA can request a free quote for any quantity of structures with those precise specifications.
Your HOA can also explore USA SHADE’s full range of shade structures, including waterproof and solar-powered structures. If you want assistance with customization, our friendly team of experts is ready to offer guidance, support and solutions.
Contact USA SHADE for expert help planning, designing, creating and installing the perfect shade structure solutions for your HOA.
