Home sellers: learn 7 easy ways to create instant curb appeal (without breaking the bank)!
Planning to sell your home this year?
No doubt you’ve been thinking about all the potential upgrades, repairs and improvements you want to complete before you put your house on the market. One thing I’ve learned through my years as a home stager and as a three-time home seller is that improving your home’s curb appeal is critical.
You know the saying:
You never get a second chance to make a great first impression.
What is Curb Appeal?
Simply put, curb appeal is the level of attractiveness of your home’s exterior when buyers view it from the street. Improving your home’s curb appeal is a critical aspect in marketing your property because buyers’ first impressions of your home are formed at the moment they pull into the driveway.
A well-manicured lawn and properly maintained exterior set the tone for a positive experience once buyers go inside. In contrast, when buyers see rusty mailboxes, chipping paint, and overgrown bushes, they assume that the interior of the home has been neglected as well.
In fact, many buyers won’t even bother getting out of their car if they are turned off by exterior conditions.
When we sold our last house, we allocated about half of our home-selling prep budget to overhauling our front yard landscape, and it paid off BIG TIME.
When it comes to your quest to create instant curb appeal, the great news is that you can make a huge impact with a small budget.
Let’s explore some inexpensive ways to add that WOW Factor to your home exterior. These affordable curb appeal ideas will make home buyers jump out of their car to take a closer look at your property.
7 Inexpensive Ways to Add Instant Curb Appeal
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1. Front Door Makeover
Home buyers usually spend a lot of time at the front door while the realtor is fumbling to get the lockbox open. For this reason, it’s really important that this area is set up to impress.
First, consider giving your door a fresh coat of paint in a beautiful color (get ideas for front door colors here).
While you’re painting it, take a close look at your door hardware. If it isn’t looking up to snuff, consider replacing it, as well as adding a matching decorative kick plate. This is especially helpful if your door is plain and lacking any decorative elements.
Next, add a new welcome mat. I’m loving this layered look that’s all the rage right now.
And a seasonal wreath is a must (check out my curated collection of spring wreaths and fall wreaths).
No front door area would be complete without some pretty planters filled with gorgeous greenery or flowers. I’m especially fond of flanking the front door with a pair of tall planters like this:
One last detail to check — your doorbell. If it doesn’t look pristine, replace it. Seems like a minor detail, but remember that buyers have time to notice the minor details while they are getting ready to walk through the front door.
2. Clean and/or Update Exterior Lighting
It’s always a great idea to thoroughly clean exterior lights before putting your home on the market. If your lights are damaged or really dated, consider replacing them with new fixtures (but first read these tips on selecting outdoor light fixtures).
If replacing them is not in the budget, you can always spray paint the existing fixtures to breath new life into them.
3. A Staged Front Porch
If you are one of the lucky homeowners who have a lovely front porch, by all means, draw attention to this great selling feature by demonstrating to the buyers how this outdoor oasis can serve as another great living space for them.
Set up a conversation area complete with chairs, a small table for a drink, and some pretty, outdoor-friendly accessories.
4. Seasonal Plants and Fresh Mulch
If you are listing your property in spring, summer or fall, your curb appeal will get a significant boost by freshening up the mulch beds with a layer of new mulch and planting a few seasonal plants in key prominent areas.
Think geraniums in summer and mums in the fall.
For an even more budget-friendly option, try mulch dye to give the illusion of new mulch by “painting” your existing mulch.
5. Garage Door Makeover
A less obvious, but important exterior feature to turn your attention to when selling your house is the garage door (especially if it is a garage that faces the street).
If yours is less thank stellar, no worries!
You can spruce it up fairly easily and inexpensively by adding a few pieces of cosmetic hardware (hint, those are not real windows). Check out this DIY garage door makeover to see just how cheap and easy it can be.
Buyers love a custom look like this!
6. Level Up Your House Numbers
An often-neglected staging detail for upping the curb appeal factor is to upgrade those house numbers. To save money, you can simply spray paint the existing ones.
When we sold our last house, we swapped out the tiny cheap-looking house numbers for larger ones with a modern flair.
I couldn’t believe the difference it made!
7. Mailbox Makeover
It seems that over time, homeowners become blind to the rust on their mailbox and the door that is hanging on by a thread. Case in point: here’s one I spotted on a walk around town that definitely needs a makeover before they stick a For Sale sign in the yard:
Take this opportunity to look at your mailbox and ask yourself how you can make it more appealing to a buyer. At the very least, make sure that the house numbers are legible and clearly visible from the street.
Investing in a new mailbox and post can make a world of difference when it comes to buyer first impressions.
BONUS CURB APPEAL TIP: Basic Yard Maintenance
It probably goes without saying that keeping up with basic yard maintenance is a must when your property goes on the market. Make sure to carve out a time for:
- mowing the lawn
- edging beds
- weeding
- watering plants.
I hope that these tips for adding instant curb appeal inspire you to create an exterior that will attract the perfect buyer for your home.
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Tina Puth says
I recently bought a fixer-upper home and the previous owners did not take care of the yard at all! For the past couple of months, my husband and I have been working on the yard to clean it up so we can get some sod on it and start planting. We ended up renting a dumpster to get rid of all the yard waste and I am happy to say the yard is looking great. Now that the yard is in top shape I’ve been wanting to update the exterior but I didn’t know where to start. This article gave me such simple ideas that I didn’t even think of. (Like changing the house number to a more modern look). I can’t wait to see how it turns out!!
Natalie Gallagher says
Yes, changing up something small like the house numbers makes a surprisingly big difference!