One of the first things I do when I am about to go to a home to list it is take pictures of the exterior of the home. Curb Appeal is probably one of the top things you can do to help get people to look inside of your home. When prospective home buyers are doing a search online (which studies show 87% do now), the first thing they see is the exterior of the home.
No matter how nice your home is inside, if you cannot get a prospective buyer to get beyond that initial picture of your property you are not going to get many showings and probably have to settle for less than you anticipated.
I was watching a show on tv yesterday and they were talking about curb appeal and home pricing. They mentioned that a home that has nice curb appeal on average gets up to 10% more for their home than one that does not. Other studies I have read online say that the return can be as high as 25%. I believe a lot of it has to do with the home and the price point you are selling. But a good rule of thumb I tell my sellers is to expect 5% to 15% more than they would have received if they did nothing. And most importantly, chances are the home will sell quicker than if they did nothing. This does not mean that you have to go out and spend thousands of dollars hiring a landscape designer. A lot of times it can be some simple things you do to enhance the exterior of your home.
On older homes that do not have vinyl siding or brick a fresh coat of paint can brighten and make a home look thousand percent better. If you have vinyl siding look to see if your home may be in need of a power washing. Both are inexpensive measures to help add to the attractiveness of your home.
Consider planting some shrubs and making your grass greener. Well positioned shrubs and a yard that looks like it has been cared for can make a huge difference on someone walking in to look at your home.
Also, as we are approaching the spring season consider planting some colorful flowers to add some color to the exterior of your home..Or depending on the style of home you have and inexpensive measure I recommend to homeowners is to add window boxes to their home. They add some old world charm and make the home look bright and vibrant.
Another is making sure the driveway and front yard are clear of kids bikes and toys. You want to create an atmosphere where the buyer is envisioning their items not worrying about running over or stepping on your children's toys.
I always take three to four pictures of the exterior from different angles driving in to the home. I then go over the pictures with my sellers and we discuss ways to enhance the exterior of the home without spending a lot of money. it is like the old adage...."you only get one chance to make a first impression". So you need to make that impression count.
Dave diCecco
Realtor/Agent
www.davedicecco.com
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