Curb Appeal – Setting the Tone, Attracting Home Buyers

Two important pieces of the marketing puzzle are web appeal and curb appeal. Getting both right is key to selling your home for top dollar in today’s market. I discussed web appeal in an earlier post entitled, “Web Appeal – Your Home’s First Impression to Buyers” (click on title to read). Today, we’re going to look at curb appeal.

Curb appeal sets the tone and attracts (or deters) home buyers. It makes your home stand out from the competition – hopefully in a good way. If done properly, it informs and attracts those just driving by as well as buyers/agents pulling up in their car to see the property in person. If done incorrectly, it will deter potential buyers and make your competition (aka similar homes for sale in the area) appear better and more appealing than yours which usually leads to the buyer placing an offer on your neighbor’s home rather than yours.

How do you go about getting an A+ grade on your home’s curb appeal? The same way you would go about getting your ready to sell. Give it a full detail. You won’t get top dollar of your car is dirty and doesn’t look well maintained. The same goes for your home.

Here’s a partial list of what should be done…

• power wash the exterior
• replace any damaged siding, bricks, wood, etc.
• give your home a landscaping facelift (mulch, shrubs, flowers, trees, grass, etc)
• fresh coat of paint if applicable
• bay and other window frames, shutter touch-up
• power wash (and possibly re-seal/stain) the deck

There’s more, but this gives you an idea of what I’m talking about.

One part of curb appeal which few agents/brokers talk about is the yard sign in the front yard. Why don’t they talk about it? Because the typical agent/broker yard sign does absolutely nothing to increase the curb appeal. In some cases, it detracts from the home’s curb appeal.

The typical agent/broker yard sign gives buyers only the following information…

• brokerage name and phone number
• agent name and phone number

The irony of it is that we, as agents and brokers are hired by you to market your home in the most effective manner possible in order to attract a ready, willing and able buyer with an offer acceptable to your terms. The bad news is that the typical yard sign gives no information about the property whatsoever which does nothing to attract a buyer which, in turn, does nothing to help sell your home.

The good news is that you don’t have to settle for the norm nor anything less than top of the line. Here’s why…

 

 

This is one example of a custom yard sign I made for a recent listing of mine. Here’s what this sign includes that others do not…

• price
• photos of the interior
• number of bedrooms and bathrooms
• description of other key interior features
• custom property web site URL

Why is this stuff on the sign? Because this is the type of information that buyers want and they want it right then and there. And as the saying goes, “If you got it, flaunt it” – inform potential buyers driving/walking by about your home, what it’s best features are and make them say, “I want to see this house!” This is key, because getting a buyer to want to see your home in person is the first step in getting an offer in your hands.

In the case of this particular listing, while the sitting at the settlement table, the buyer said, “We pulled up to the house and said, ‘Wow, that’s an awesome sign!’” That’s the kind of stuff that will make a buyer remember your home over others (i.e. “the home with the awesome sign”) which plays a part in getting your home sold for top dollar.

The bottom line is this… If you want to sell your home for top dollar in today’s market, you must have excellent and “stand out from the rest” web appeal and curb appeal. If you don’t your home will sit on the market while those around you sell or you lower the price. If your home’s web appeal and curb appeal is better than the rest, your yard sign will look like this,