Demand is finally starting to catch up with supply and significantly fewer distressed properties weighing down the system. If your selling your home and want to be in the competition as the supply narrows, than you should know that a property’s curb appeal naturally makes a critical first impression. While most real estate professionals advise their clients to tend to the yard work, trim the trees, and put out a new welcome mat, there are some other opportunities to help sellers improve a home’s curb appeal. Real estate professionals call it ‘Staging’ and can offer some compelling ideas for sprucing up exteriors, here are a few extra ideas.

Front Door

A front door can be a home’s focal point. You want to repaint or even replace your door. Replacing a front door with a new steel door (which costs about $1,200) actually offers the biggest bang for the buck at resale. (An average of 73 percent of the cost may be recouped, according to Remodeling magazine). Here in Savannah there are many homes with wooden front doors, yours home may have one of them. If so, perhaps you may want to consider refinishing it. This would give your entryway a warm and inviting look. 

Windows

Wash them inside and out make sure all of the windows have screens. Try dressing up the windows with flower boxes. Check your shutters, do they need some repair, or repainting? If you are painting the shutters the trend is away from high contrast green, red, or black. More monochromatic palettes that blend with the rest of the house is what most buyers are looking for today. This goes for your front door as well.

Front Porch

Here in Savannah this is a critical first impression, and can be a key selling point, so don’t overlook this part of your home. Consider this additional square footage of living space, so stage it with as much care as you would the rest of your home. Add some rocking or Adirondack chairs or even a porch swing, with a side table for coffee and for writing up contracts. Add some potted flowering plants as well. You can get some great ideas for porches by driving through Ardsley Park, or Baldwin Park, or try the Victorian district where many homes have front porches that are often used by their residents.

After Dark

You can bet that home buyers will drive by your house in the evening to survey the neighborhood. Add some portable outdoor lamps along your walkway. Home centers sell solar lights for a very affordable price these days. Make sure your porch light is working and perhaps add a lamp on the porch if it is large enough to do so, and make sure to leave them on. The goal is to create a warm glow from the curb, making your home look cozy and inviting.

Sure To Sell

With these extra tips your home is sure to sell. If you are looking for some additional information on the process of selling your home try The Sellers Roadmap on our website.