If a home has an attractive exterior, it means that it is attractive to the eye and inspires confidence. A great curb helps you sell a home faster and for more money because of the positive effect it has on buyers. Unfortunately, many homeowners overlook the curb appeal of their home when they put it on the market. Exterior appeal helps maintain the perceived value of your home.
A first impression is everything and curb appeal is the first impression of your home or neighborhood, according to Donovan Reynolds, a real estate agent from Georgia. What counts is what's inside, right? That's true, but when it comes to your home, the exterior also matters more than you think. Not only does a home's appeal make a first impression on potential buyers, it also plays an important role in determining its value. Whether selling your home is on the horizon or you're planning to stay there for many years, we explain why maintaining its curb appeal is in your best interest, along with some tips on how to improve it.
Often, a real estate company has an agent they work with who can give you advice on how to increase your attractiveness to add value to your home. Unfortunately, a poor curb appeal could lead some buyers to avoid seeing a property that is for sale. For example, there are several things that can increase the curb appeal of a property that are relatively inexpensive, such as a new paint job, cleaning up the outdoor landscape, or replacing small things, outdated lamps, or old numbers in a mailbox. The best thing about curb appeal is that it's easy to achieve with a few relatively minor settings.
Having greater curb appeal can lead to a house being priced higher than another house of the same size and features, but with a lower curb appeal, but it's never a guarantee. Therefore, if you want to maximize the value of your property, it's wise to focus on improving its curb appeal. If a property looks the worst in a neighborhood, buyers may hesitate compared to other, more attractive listings. In some cases, even outsourcing aspects to improve curb appeal, such as hiring a landscaping company or hiring a contractor to replace a house's siding, may be financially wise if the final sale price of the property increases at closing.
But what is curb appeal and why is it important, even when you're not trying to sell your home? Let's take a look. The reason why curb appeal plays such an important role in the value of your home is because home viewings and appraisals are often quite short, and viewers don't have much time to comment. Robert Johnson, founder of Sawinery, says that “external appeal is an essential part of creating value in a home. Even if you're not preparing to sell your home, it's important to improve the “curb appeal” of your home, or its external appearance, for many reasons.
Taking the time to improve the curb appeal of your home is a worthwhile investment and is often easy to achieve. Your curb appeal must be intentional: adding random plants, decorations, or accessories to your home without worrying about the overall look will only make your home look cluttered or out of place.
