Curb Appeal- How Important is it?

Curb Appeal: the visual attractiveness of a house as seen from the street

We hear about curb appeal all the time.  But as a potential home seller have you ever taken the time to understand the impact has on the sale of your home?

Ok, so we think about how attractive your home is to potential home buyers from the street.  Yeah sounds good…. but this is the first impression a home buyer has of your home.  As they are walking up the walkway to open the front door, the buyer has already formed an opinion of your home before ever looking inside!! The first impression is usually the lasting impression.

Do you want potential home buyers walking through your door starting off with a nagative impression?  Probably not.

The first scenario is obvious but there are two other scenarios to think about.

The drive by buyers.  Many buyers do a drive by of home they are interested in prior to scheduling a showing.  If they like what they see they call their agent and schedule a showing, if they don’t, then no showing.  To give you an idea of how many buyers do drive bys, I had a client recently sitting in his front office on a Saturday afternoon.  He counted no less than 25 cars stop and view the home from the street in a several hour period.  Don’t underestimate the drive by buyer’s.  They are very serious buyers.

Lastly, curb appeal, is just as important for your online presence.  If your house has good curb appeal from the street that will show through online.  It is typical for most listings to show the front of the house as the lead photo.  If the photo is taken so its pleasing and you have good curb appeal, it will increase the number of showings you may get.

A few ideas to increase your curb appeal with out breaking your budget:

1. Clean your gutters.
2. Pressure wash your walkways and driveway as well as dirty siding and any decks.
3. Clean your windows.  It makes a huge impression on buyers and makes them think you’ve taken great care of your home.
4. Trim trees and bushes that are close to your home.  The small things often make the biggest impressions.
5. Mow your lawn. Even if it is the dead of winter having a nicely mowed lawn looks good to potential buyers.
6. Rake your leaves. This really is a big deal. A well-raked yard simply looks better than a yard full of leaves.
7. Make sure there is no litter and that all tools and equipment and play equipment are put away.
8. Freshen up paint or stain on stairs, decks and doorways.

Don’t underestimate the power of curb appeal of your home when it comes to selling your home.  Walk out to the street and approach your home the way a buyer would.  How does it look? Are there things you can do to increase the curb appeal.

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This post, Curb Appeal- How important is it for Massachusetts Home Sellers? was provided by Kevin Vitali of EXIT Group One Real Estate in Tewksbury Massachusetts.  Kevin can be reached at anytime by 978-360-0422 or by email at kevin@kevinvitali.com

If you are thinking of buying or selling Real Estate in Massachusetts, contact Kevin for your free consultation.  Make your next real estate transaction a smooth transaction.

Serving the Real Estate needs of Northeast Massachusetts, Merrimack Valley, North Shore and Metrowest including the following communities and the surrounding areas, Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Burlington, Chelmsford, Dracut, Groveland,  Haverhill, Lowell, Merrimac, Methuen, North Andover, North Reading, Reading,  Tewksbury, Tyngsborough, Wakefield, Wilmington, Westford