If you hadn’t heard, we’re in an El Niño year, which means that Los Angeles is enduring a muggier summer than usual. It’s summers like this that really make you appreciate full, leafy, tree-lined streets that cast plenty of shadow. And in a concrete jungle like LA, the lusher neighborhoods stand a better chance of effectively combating the city’s urban heat island effect. Not familiar with heat islands? Well, they can strongly influence how hot certain neighborhoods in urban areas get. This also means those tree-lined streets may be contributing to higher home values.
Research Supports the Power of Canopy Coverage
This isn’t exactly a revelation. Studies have been done on the climate control offered by tree canopies for decades, with similar results reflected across the country’s urban areas. Take, for example, a study published in the summer of 2022 by ScienceDirect. It indicates that the amount of tree canopy coverage within approximately 100 to 400 meters of a home consistently corresponds with higher sales prices. And this boost only increases with larger lots and properties closer to the urban core.
A separate study published in 2025 by PubMed reinforced the idea of a correlation between tree coverage in urban areas and higher home prices. The research estimated that home values increase by around $9 to as much as $134 for every 1% change in the surrounding tree canopy coverage. Furthermore, the study posited that loss of this canopy coverage could reduce home values by billions by the year 2030.
Inside LA’s Urban Heat Island Hotspots
What does this mean for LA’s urban heat island spots, specifically? In a 2012 study by Saphores and Li that focused exclusively on Los Angeles, results showed a clear correlation between neighborhood-level tree canopies and premium home prices. State research later reinforced these findings. Therefore, this seems to be a trend that resonates at both a local and national level.
But the placement of the trees is a factor. Interestingly, studies in urban areas like Tampa showed that having a tree directly on a home’s property doesn’t move the value needle much. Rather, trees set at a bit of a distance, optimally within around 500 feet of the home, tend to more effectively boost a home’s value. Perhaps it’s because these trees cast shade not just across the home but the neighboring yards and passing street, cooling the environment rather than just the home itself. It’s one of the few occasions in which a buyer seems more willing to pay for a neighborhood feature rather than a home-specific attraction.
What Are Heat Islands?
Trees are highly effective for combating the urban heat island effect, a circumstance in which pavement, rooftops, and a distinct lack of vegetation drive up the heat in certain urban areas. Some of the LA neighborhoods unprotected by considerable tree canopy coverage regularly hit surface temperatures that spike above the regional average. Likewise, the streets with a decent amount of canopy coverage enjoy cooler temperatures on sweltering summer afternoons. When assessing how sellers can use tree canopies to market their homes, researchers of heat islands primarily cite:
(1.) More affordable cooling costs.
(2.) Improved air quality.
(3.) More comfortable outdoor spaces.
Using Considerable Canopy Coverage to Your Advantage
Sellers should obviously jump at the opportunity to treat tree canopy coverage as a documented amenity instead of simply relegating it to curb appeal. Buyers should also recognize how adequate canopy coverage can reduce the urban heat island effect, leading to cooler environments and, in many cases, more affordable utilities. Either way, those beautiful trees lining the streets mean a lot more than added curb appeal in urban markets like LA’s.
With a brand that says as much as JohnHart’s, Senior Copywriter Seth Styles never finds himself at a loss for words. Responsible for maintaining the voice of the company, he spends each day drafting marketing materials, blogs, bios, and agent resources that speak from the company’s collective mind and Hart… errr, heart.
Having spent over a decade in creative roles across a variety of industries, Seth brings with him vast experience in SEO practices, digital marketing, and all manner of professional writing with particular strength in blogging, content creation, and brand building. Gratitude, passion, and sincerity remain core tenets of his unwavering work ethic. The landscape of the industry changes daily, paralleling JohnHart’s efforts to {re}define real estate, but Seth works to maintain the company’s consistent message while offering both agents and clients a new echelon of service.
When not preserving the JohnHart essence in stirring copy, Seth puts his efforts into writing and illustrating an ongoing series entitled The Death of Romance. In addition, he adores spending quality time with his girlfriend and Romeo (his long-haired chihuahua mix), watching ‘70s and ‘80s horror movies, and reading (with a particular penchant for Victorian horror novels and authors Yukio Mishima and Bret Easton Ellis). He also occasionally records music as the vocalist and songwriter for his glam rock band, Peppermint Pumpkin.
