When you’re trying to sell a house, curb appeal is the first impression potential buyers get. Curb appeal for selling a house sets the tone and feeling before they even make it through the front door. In fact, many times there are potential home buyers who will decide if they even want to see the inside based on the first impressions they get from the exterior!
To give you the competitive edge when you put a house on the market, we’re looking at tips and ideas for crafting curb appeal when selling a house. Check these out and get top dollar for your home!
Importance of Curb Appeal When Selling a House
Before we dive into ideas for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house, Let’s talk about the importance and difference good curb appeal for selling a house makes. Statistics show that homes having used professional landscaping services for good curb appeal tend to sell for an average of 7% more than similar houses with less inviting exteriors. This is a major difference for something you can have done so easily!
Another major factor to consider for the importance of curb appeal when selling a house is today’s home buying journey. Over 95% of potential homebuyers are beginning their experience online. This means they’re looking at photos of homes to determine if they even want to come see it. Having clean, professional landscaping immediately signals to potential buyers that they can expect to see a home that has been well-maintained and likely doesn’t come with a list of projects that need to be addressed. Homeowners want to see the home’s potential, not a long list of chores they have to do right off the bat.
Tips on Curb Appeal for Selling a House
Now that you’ve got an understanding of why you should make sure you’ve got good curb appeal when selling a house, let’s talk about how to make it happen! Sprucing up your curb appeal doesn’t have to require major undertaking to be a wow factor for your home. In fact, low-maintenance lawn ideas can be even more effective if you live in an area where homebuyers may be young professionals with busy schedules or have kids that will be playing in the yard.
Some of our favorite ways for how to landscape the front of your house to build up great curb appeal for selling a house include:
- Cutting back trees and shrubs to look their best
- Maintaining a well-manicured lawn
- Adding a water feature to make your home stand out
- Using minimalist front yard landscaping ideas for low-maintenance beauty
- Freshening up hardscaping for walkways and paths
- Sprucing up your mailbox
Cutting Back Trees and Shrubs
One of the first things to look at for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house is cutting back overgrown trees and shrubs. Even if you’ve picked out the best trees to plant in Upstate NY, they won’t help you on your endeavor to get top dollar for your home if they’re looking unkempt or obscuring the view of your house. While these tasks should’ve been part of your spring cleanup checklist, take a look at them for opportunities to get the best curb appeal for selling a house regardless of which season you’re in.
Maintaining a Lush Lawn
If you pull up to a house and the grass has large dead patches, does it feel the most welcoming? We didn’t think so! Next on our list of tips for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house is keeping the lawn looking lush and green. This means learning summer lawn maintenance tips like how often (and at what height) to mow the grass, keeping the weeds from taking over, and considering alternative landscaping ideas where grass won’t grow.
Whether it’s choosing what grass is right for Upstate NY lawns or avoiding summer lawn care mistakes like cutting your grass too short or too often, a lush lawn will inevitably help your home sell faster and hopefully get you top dollar.
Water Features for Curb Appeal When Selling a House
As you’re considering ways for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house, remember that a wow factor can make all the difference in the world. If you thought that water features were huge endeavors to add to your landscaping, think again! Not only do water features add value to a home, but they are also available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and designs to fit almost any space and budget. This means they make the perfect wow factor for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house.
In Case You Didn’t Know: NVS Waterscapes, a division of NVS Landscapes, is ready to build you the water feature installation of your dreams. Let our professionals create an incredible front yard water feature to boost curb appeal for selling a house and get top dollar!
Minimalist Front Yard Landscaping Ideas for Curb Appeal
Crafting great curb appeal when selling a house also means considering the amount of maintenance potential buyers may be willing to take on. While we love a big traditional landscaping space with lots of flowers and draping greenery, some homeowners will look at that kind of landscaping and see their weekend chores!
Instead, current landscaping trends have shifted to more minimalist front yard landscaping ideas that showcase the home beautifully without requiring a ton of upkeep. These ideas include things like very purposeful edging to create a clean look, monochromatic color schemes to simplify the visuals, and adding in singular wow factors like a water feature to give it pizzazz.
Freshening Up Hardscaping in the Front Yard
Next up on our list of tips for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house is freshening up hardscaping for walkways and landscaping edging. If you don’t have any hardscaping, it can add a clean, professional, and polished look to your front yard space that invites potential buyers into your home! If you do have existing hardscaping that needs a little TLC, consider pressure washing it and making sure it’s free from weeds to maximize the look potential buyers see as they arrive to view your property.
Sprucing Up Your Mailbox
Last, but not least on our list of ways to create great curb appeal when selling a house is sprucing up your mailbox! In addition to landscaping around trees for a finished look to your front yard, your mailbox often gives you a chance to brighten up the front of your home and invite potential buyers to come see it. This can be easily done by adding a small flower bed or freshening up the look of a wooden post with new staining or a neutral paint color. Such a small task can make a big difference when it comes to catching the eye of potential buyers and increasing curb appeal for selling a house!
We hope this guide has given you a few ideas on things you can do for crafting great curb appeal when selling a house. Making your home stand out from other properties for sale can be as simple as giving your front yard landscaping a refresh! When you’re ready to maximize your home’s curb appeal to get top dollar, contact us and have the best landscape professionals in Albany, Saratoga, Colonie, Schenectady, and the Capital Region make your home look its best.
Want more ideas for landscaping your front and back yards to get top dollar if you choose to sell? Check out these resources: