Your home’s exterior is important to keep beautiful and tidy while your home is listed for sale. That’s because the exterior of your home is the first impression your neighbors, friends, family, and potential homebuyers will have of your home. You want to be sure your home has the most beautiful entrance to knock out your competition in the neighborhood!
How can you make the exterior of your home feel welcoming and cozy this spring and summer season? We are sharing some of our favorite ways to update or staging the outdoor areas of your home for that instant curb appeal that is also ideal to create that amazing web appeal for those buyers viewing a home listed for sale online.
Address Your Curb Appeal
Like we mentioned earlier, curb appeal is key to making your home look inviting and attractive from the street. And if you’re looking to sell your home, when done right, curb appeal and landscaping could fetch your home 5.5 percent to 12.7 percent more in price.
How can you address and update your curb appeal? Start with your first impression of the house and yard. We suggest standing at the curb of your house where a potential buyer may park their car and then start to walk toward the house looking around as if it was your first visit. What do you see as the exterior of the home’s best features and what are its worst features? Your list may be starting to form of what you may need to work on. Here are the basics that we highly recommend that are easy and budget-friendly to start improving your curb appeal instantly.
- Paint your front door – Whether your front door is peeling and faded or just a drabby hue, painting your front door can make your house pop at first glance. If your HOA doesn’t have a restriction on the colors you can use, consider painting your door a bright, happy color that will bring a smile to people’s face as they walk up. Here are some suggested front door paint colors courtesy of Sherwin-Williams!
- Have a clear path to the front door – Is your walkway overgrown with weeds or not well defined because your pavers are broken and misaligned? A clear path not only looks tidy, but cleanly leads people directly to your home.
- Mow your lawn – This might seem pretty simple, but keeping your grass looking healthy and trim is another way to increase your curb appeal. Buyers (and probably your neighbors) don’t want to see overgrown lawns with weeds, dandelions, and tall grass.
Create Comfy Sitting Areas
As the weather gets warmer, people are more apt to sit outside and watch their kids play, grill out, and entertain on the patio. This means comfy sitting areas are needed to make the above more enjoyable.
If you’re selling your home, staging a comfy sitting area can show prospective home buyers what it would be like to lounge in their new backyard. You can also stage cute rocking chairs on your front porch, too.
Depending on the size of your outdoor space, you can add comfy seating:
- Around a fire pit – great for enjoying summer nights with friends and family
- Around an outdoor fireplace and TV – perfect for having family night watching movies
- Around your outdoor kitchen – showing off the entertainment value of the space
- Between two trees – a hammock is an ideal napping spot on a lazy Sunday afternoon
- On the front porch – there’s nothing more relaxing than swinging on a porch swing as you read a book
Update your Patio or Deck
Homebuyers want outdoor spaces, which typically include a patio or deck. In fact, according to Kiplinger, 87% of homebuyers want a patio in their next home.
If your home has a patio or deck, spring is the perfect time to make any updates to it. Whether you need to replace safety features of your patio or re-stain the deck, people will appreciate the opportunity to grill out, get some sun, and just enjoy the outdoors.
If you need some tips and tricks to spruce up your patio, read Outdoor Patio Design Ideas That Inspire You.
Keep Your Yard Tidy
We briefly mentioned this earlier, but keeping your yard tidy is really important. And it’s not just for curb appeal reasons. It’s also because a tidy yard is healthy.
When left alone, weeds have the power to take over entire lawns. What once was gorgeous, green grass can quickly turn into dull weeds. By keeping your yard tidy, you keep your grass, shrubs, and flowers healthy. This also helps any lawn ornaments, flags, birdbaths, and any other lawn accessories stand out from the street.
Pressure Wash Your Home
Not only should your yard be tidy, but the exterior of your home should be tidy too. Pressure washing your home can get rid of any lingering winter grime, bird poop, mold, and mildew.
You can also pressure wash your driveway, sidewalk, and front porch to complete your clean house look. This will impress home buyers, who’s first impression can be ruined if they spot grime on the siding of a home. Not only will their first impression be tainted, but their overall view of your house could be as well.
Giving prospective home buyers any inkling that your house is dirty or not well maintained can affect their perceived value of your home. This can result in lower offers (or no offers), fewer showings, and more time on the market.
When you create that attractive curb appeal, in the end, it will add value to your home which in turn commands a higher price and spends fewer days on the market!
