Curb appeal is one of the most crucial factors in staging a home for sale. After all, the first impression sets the tone for what buyers will think of the rest of the house. Excellent curbside appeal beckons prospective buyers inside with a hopeful attitude about what you property might hold in store for them. Meanwhile, a poor exterior appearance may make some buyers change their minds and not even bother to come inside for a look around. The importance of making a positive initial impact on a buyer simply can not be overstated.
This resource section guides property sellers through the steps they need to perform in order to delight potential buyers with perfect curbside appeal.
What Exactly is Curb Appeal?
Curbside appearance generally refers to how a home is viewed from the street. It takes into account the exterior condition of the home, including landscaping features, such as the lawn, shrubbery, flowers and other factors, like the sidewalk pavement, driveway, stoop and walkways.
If the home looks warm and wonderful on the outside, there will be no shortage of prospective buyers making appointments to come see the inside. These buyers are already impressed with the first look of the property and will typically foster a receptive attitude towards the rest of the house, based on this positive bias.
Enhancing Curb Appeal
Optimizing curbside appeal can be challenging for some homes and very easy for others. Generally, here are a range of home staging strategies which may help to provide a terrific first impression to buyers, as the drive up to your front door:
Take extra care to make the front door area, including the entire exterior entrance way and interior foyer, as warm and inviting as possible. Paint the door and nice color such as red or hunter green and make sure the hardware is shined to a bright finish. Remove any debris or cobwebs from the entrance area.
Make sure that the outdoor electric works well and that all fixtures are operating correctly. If it is getting later in the day, always turn on outside lighting fixtures to highlight evening aesthetic appeal and create an ambiance of security.
Repair or replace cracked pavement, including the sidewalks, front walk and driveway. Make sure the masonry on the stoop is in good condition. Freshly paint any railings leading up to the home.
Take care to weed the flower beds and trim back shrubbery to a nice shape and correct proportions. Do not allow any tree or bush to obscure the home. Make sure that the grass is healthy and lush. Plant some colorful flowers around the front of the home. Rake up fallen leaves, or other debris, and never allow any garbage to settle on the front lawn or flower beds. This is one of the easiest and most effective means of creating a “well cared-for” look to your property.
Clean the garage door and the driveway, then place some colorful flowers near the entrance to the garage.
Learn more about creating an idyllic landscape design by hiring a professional landscape architect or propertyscape designer.
Curb Appeal Perfection
Staging perfect curbside appeal is rarely about spending large amounts of money. Most fixes can be made cheaply, and by the owner, using simple DIY staging techniques. The front of your home is the ideal place to invest some sweat equity and recoup big profits during a sale. Better yet, fantastic first impressions will help to get a home sold faster and might even attract multiple offers.
Remember that a first impression is the best time to make a potential buyer emotional about the idea of owning your home. Emotions breed desire and desire breeds competition among buyers, raising your final asking price considerably in many cases.
For detailed ideas about increasing the appeal of the outside of your home, please read my exterior home staging section or contact a qualified property stager or home staging consultant near you.
You can perfect the curb appeal of your designs with easy to follow lessons from my Learn Home Staging book.