One of the most important ways to help your home sell faster and for more money is to improve its curb appeal. A listing with a well-maintained front yard will look incredible in the real estate images and at in-person showings.
While curb appeal is essential when selling a home, you want to consider the cost and budget appropriately. There are several ways for homeowners to spruce up their landscape without spending an excessive amount of money.
Below are four budget-friendly ways to improve a home’s curb appeal quickly:
Tidy everything up
It may seem obvious, but sometimes decluttering is a missed step by home sellers. Before adding new improvements to the front yard area, you first want to eliminate any unnecessary items on the driveway, sidewalk, and landscaping. Additionally, put away trashcans, toys, and miscellaneous items before the listing photo shoot.
Often there are things around the yard that sellers don’t even notice anymore, like a broken light fixture, faded yard ornaments, or a long garden hose. Review the property with the home sellers from the street to tidy up wherever needed, even if it’s just a thorough sweep.
Do a deep clean
It’s not uncommon for a property to accumulate stains and dirt buildup over time. Shrubs next to the house can cause mildew in humid climates, gutters fill with leaves and dirt, or there may be oil stains on the driveway.
Special cleansers and tools are available for all these problems, or homeowners may be able to achieve a small miracle by pressure washing the front of the home.
Take care of small repairs
Home sellers don’t have to replace all their gutters just because a few areas have sagging or dings. Just fix the biggest eyesores on the front of the house. The same goes for shutters gone askew. Properly maintained shutters with a fresh coat of paint can significantly enhance a property’s curb appeal.
Speaking of paint, it can do wonders in small places when using beautiful accent colors. Refreshing a home’s trim, front door, and shutters with new paint is easy and budget-friendly.
Check your landscaping
You may want to extend tidying efforts to include weeding and pruning. If the yard is really out of control, a one-time visit from a professional landscaper could get sellers to a great starting point while saving time and labor.
Landscaping is the best way to improve a home’s curb appeal. After tidying, repairing, and freshening up a front yard and porch, updating the landscaping is the last step.
Before running to the gardening center, create a plan and budget. There are ways to improve landscaping without spending too much (which is easy to do at a plant nursery). Focus on improvement, not a complete overhaul. Suggest homeowners buy new mulch, some potted planters, perennial shrubs, and seasonal flowers.
Why curb appeal matters for real estate photos
Improving a home’s curb appeal by tidying up, doing a deep clean, making repairs, and updating the landscaping will capture the attention of potential buyers online. With beautiful curb appeal, your real estate images will impress prospective home buyers and help the home sell faster.
If you want high-quality listing materials, consider using Virtuance for your real estate photography needs. Along with a variety of optional marketing enhancements, every HDReal® image package from Virtuance comes with a single-listing website and access to our Marketing Suite.
