If you’ve spent any time reviewing home sellers’ guides, there’s one tip you’ve likely seen: enhance your curb appeal. By improving curb appeal, you make your home more enticing, ensuring the first impression it makes on potential buyers is strong.
Boosting your curb appeal is particularly critical in the spring. Spring is a popular time to list a home for sale, so more properties are competing for buyers’ attention. As a result, you’ll want to go the extra mile to make sure yours stands out.
Luckily, if you’re trying to figure out how to boost curb appeal, there are plenty of simple options. Here are ten things you can do now to improve your home’s curb appeal to sell this spring.
10 Things You Can Do Now to Improve Your Home’s Curb Appeal to Sell This Spring
1. Repaint Your Front Door
If you’re looking for some low-cost, DIY curb appeal projects, repainting your front door is a great place to start. It refreshes the look of your door completely. Plus, you can take it as an opportunity to add a pop of color to the front of your home, drawing the eyes of buyers.
Usually, repainting a door only takes a few hours and requires very few materials. Nearly any homeowner can tackle it with a can of paint, some brushes, and some painter’s tape.
You’ll want to choose a color that stands out against the rest of your home but also complements the overall look. Options like a sunny yellow, bright turquoise, or fresh coral can all be worth considering. However, consider a vibrant red if you want to go with a more traditional option. It’s both bold and classic all at once, making it a solid choice in many situations.
2. Update Your Landscaping
While it’s true that there may still be some snow on the ground, that doesn’t mean you can’t perk up your landscaping. If you have any evergreen shrubs or trees (besides pine), you can safely trim them as long as they’re still dormant, allowing you to ensure they’re looking their best before you list.
If you don’t have much in the way of color in your yard just yet and you’re looking for front yard landscaping ideas on a budget, add a few cold-weather plants. That way, you can imbue your landscape with life.
If it’s still too frigid to dig into the ground, go with some potted plants and position them next to your walkway or entry. Pansies and violas are hearty and can add some pops of color. The same goes for early crocuses and winter irises. You could also try something unconventional, like Hens and Chicks, an alpine succulent that’s as much beautiful as it is unexpected.
3. Get Your Outdoor Lighting Working
While the days are getting longer, it can still be fairly dark, relatively late in the morning and somewhat early in the evening. Since there’s a chance buyers will at least drive by your property when the sun isn’t fully in the sky, make your property look more welcoming by ensuring your outdoor lighting is working.
Replace your porch bulbs with bright, warm ones, using the same bulb type in every fixture to make the look consistent. If your yard is darker, consider getting some battery-operated or solar stake lights to illuminate pathways and parts of your landscaping.
4. Tackle Your Windows
Your windows have a big impact on the look of your home, so you’ll want to do some updates here. One of the inexpensive curb appeal ideas in this arena is washing your windows inside and out. That way, light passes through with ease, and there aren’t any unsightly spots.
If you have any broken windows, replacing or repairing them is essential, as damaged panes can be a major turnoff for buyers. Contact a window company to see what options are on the table.
5. Revamp Your Path
The pathway up to your front door makes an impression on buyers. If it’s welcoming and easy to walk, it can build anticipation for what’s to come. If it’s in disrepair or challenging to traverse, it can make a poor impression, causing buyers to assume that your home will have issues, too.
If you want to update your spring curb appeal, make sure your walkway is clear and in good shape. Replace broken or missing pavers, repair cracked pads, or take other steps to ensure your path is functional and attractive.
6. Clean Your Exterior
Winter weather isn’t always kind to your home’s exterior. If your siding looks a bit worse for wear, cleaning it is essential. For siding that will stand up to it, power washing your siding is one of the cheap ways to improve curb appeal. If it won’t, then you may need to go with a bleach or cleanser solution instead, ensuring you can remove grime without harming the siding.
While you’re cleaning, you may also want to tackle walkways, driveways, porch floors, and decks. Power washing those can give them new life. Just don’t go that route if the surfaces are painted, as the power washer could remove the paint.
Also, take a look at your roof and gutters. Ensure all debris is removed and that the surfaces look clean and are in good repair.
7. Replace Your Welcome Mat
In the land of easy curb appeal projects, few are simpler than replacing your welcome mat. Not only will it help keep your entry cleaner, but it can also make a positive impression on buyers.
Usually, a new welcome mat is incredibly inexpensive. Just choose a simple one that reflects your home’s style, and you’ll be in good shape.
8. Rethink Your Lawn Ornaments
Lawn ornaments are a bit tricky when you’re selling. If one is removable – and you want to take it with you – but it looks permanent, buyers might assume that it comes with the property. For buyers that don’t like the style, that could be a turnoff. Buyers who do may end up disappointed when they find out it isn’t staying.
Plus, lawn ornaments can make the front of your home look cluttered, depending on how they’re used. While some serve as lovely focal points, others aren’t doing your curb appeal any favors. They may make your yard feel cramped, which isn’t ideal.
As a result, one of the front yard curb appeal ideas you may want to embrace is removing non-permanent lawn ornaments. That way, the space feels open, and there isn’t any confusion about what’s staying with the house.
9. Update Your Garage Door
One of the critical curb appeal projects you’ll want to take on is your garage door. Not only does it need to work properly, but it also needs to look good. Usually, garage doors are sizeable, so it stands out if it isn’t in great shape.
In some cases, a simple coat of paint is all you need. However, replacing it could be your better bet if it doesn’t operate correctly. That way, it’ll open and close smoothly when buyers check it out and look spectacular doing it.
10. Update Your Numbers
When it comes to curb appeal décor, many sellers overlook the numbers of their homes. Ensuring that they are clean, easy to read, and large enough to notice from the street is essential. That way, buyers won’t have to guess whether your property is the one they’re supposed to see.
If your numbers aren’t in great shape or are hard to read from the road, replace them with large ones that reflect the style of your home. Just make sure to avoid anything too ornate. Remember, readability matters, so make that a priority.
