A lot of folks asked about curb appeal. Many don’t even know what that means. As a real estate professional, I know the answer to that question. I’ll attempt to explain what curb appeal is and how it can help you sell your home. To give those who do not know what curb appeal is, a proper understanding, I’ll start by giving you what I think is an appropriate definition.
Webster’s Defines curb appeal as: the visual attractiveness of a house as seen from the street. My definition includes: visual attractiveness from the front, and back! The back yard can play a very important role, especially if the buyers have children. Even without children you can see by the photo to the right how important curb appeal can be from the back yard.Obviously the answer to the question above is a resounding yes! Curb appeal, both in the front and back and even the sides can at times make or break a sale. I’ve seen both good and bad in the industry and what I’ve noticed, is at the very least curb appeal will make a home sell a lot faster. It may not draw a higher price (Although don’t be surprised if an offer comes in higher due largely to the fact of beautiful curb appeal), but it will sell faster and that is a fact!
Another Interesting observation relating to curb appeal is the mindset created as buyers first see the property. As a property owner you’ll need to be keenly aware of that fact that the buyer will be making decisions about your property even before they are inside of your home. WOW!!! “You mean I need to be worried even before the potential buyer sees the inside of my house?” You guessed it! Buyers in today’s high paced environment and especially with large inventories of homes on the market are more and more sophisticated.
To improve your chances you need to ask yourself: “How does my home look from the outside?” It is extremely critical to have at the very least all the clutter and debris removed and the landscaping groomed and manicured. I am not suggesting you go out and spend $$$ thousands of dollars to upgrade your landscaping. You’d be surprised, how picking up all the clutter and making sure the landscaping is manicured, will increase the amount of activity on your home. I’ll always recommend spending maybe a couple of hundred dollars to improve curb appeal if needed. The couple of hundred you spend will come back to you if done correctly (get help if needed!).
Finally it is important you do all this before taking pictures of your home. You want to put your best foot forward. If pictures say a 1,000 words, then do not get lost in the wording. Keep it simple and have lots of pictures. If you are using an agent, make sure they take a lot of pictures. Pictures are great! Buyers theses days have so many options that you want to provide the best opportunity you can! Good Luck Sellers! For additional tips on how to sell your home click here
1 comment:
I completely agree that curb appeal is a big factor, especially in this market. There are so many homes to choose from that if the outside is a mess, I probably would just move on to the next. There are times when kids' toys are strewn all over the yard and I wonder who is really in charge, the kids or the parents? That affects my state of mind before I walk into a home.
Also, new construction often will leave the yard untouched. Again with such a competive market, I would probably move on because if they didn't have the money to finish some portion of the yard, I would question the intregity of the interior.
Simply cleanliness makes all the difference. "Did the people take care of the yard" often translates to the question of "Did they take care of the inside?"
Making the yard look nice gives a welcoming feeling that gives the potential buyer the incentive to look through the front door. I agree you can tell by the curb appeal!
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