3 Easy Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal

You’re ready to sell. After all of the work you’ve put in readying your house for market, and all of the memories you hold of life lived in its spaces, it can be heartbreaking to see potential buyers turn away without making an offer (or even walking through the door). Studies show that landscaping upgrades can boost home values by 12%, or more. Enhancing your property’s curb appeal can do wonders to help your property shine in time for its open house. 

Luxury Home Expert Christina White, a top realtor in the Dallas area, has decades of experience readying homes for sale. Christina advises all of her clients to follow a short checklist of low-cost improvements to ensure that each property offers a welcoming, polished presence to potential buyers. Here, Christina shares her advice for increasing your home’s value just before listing.

1. Ensure views to the front door are clear and inviting.

A client of Christina’s learned the hard way that an obstruction near the front door — an overgrown pine tree, in this case — makes a house harder to sell. “If a potential buyer is driving by,” says Christina, “they need to see the home and its inviting entry.” In advising her clients, Christina is looking for a "Honey, stop the Car" moment. 

Be sure to prune trees of any hanging limbs or bushy branches, keep shrubs tidy, and mow lawns regularly during the selling process. If you have more of a budget, consider upgrading the surface material of your front walkway, or even driveway, to a local stone or fresh concrete pour.

Add accent trees to frame the beginning of the main walkway, making the journey to the front door more attractive. Giving your front door a fresh coat of paint (or even a pop of color) helps to complete the inviting look. 

2. Keep your color palette simple.

Stick to a narrow palette of plant species and colors to minimize visual distractions and give potential buyers a sense of ease that future weekends won’t go towards yard maintenance. Christina recommends sticking to white as the primary accent to green plantings, adding one additional pop of color in key spots. Try adding seasonal plants in pots on your front steps, with colors that complement your home’s paint colors.

3. Add mulch to your planted areas.

“So many people forget about the mulch, and fresh mulch makes such a huge difference,” Christina says. “It shows the potential buyer that the property is being maintained and the homeowner has pride of ownership.” A 2-inch layer of “wood chip” mulch spread over soil areas will give your yard a fresh look, while also suppressing weeds, keeping moisture in the soil, and protecting plant roots (Christina recommends black mulch, a popular choice) though find a tone that balances well with the color of your house. Lesson learned: avoid red hues. 

Like staging a home’s interior, making a few simple upgrades to your yard can help make your house more appealing. Follow Christina’s advice for better curb appeal landscaping: create a welcoming entry, cut back any overgrown shrubs or trees, and top off planted areas with a fresh layer of mulch. 
 

Have you tried any curb appeal tricks that worked? Share your insights with us at hello@yardkit.com.