Real estate agents are keenly aware of the critical importance of curb appeal in a tight housing market. A home’s initial appearance and impression on a potential buyer can mean the difference between a home staying on the market for weeks or selling quickly and for over the asking price.
Curb appeal is a concept that realtors try to educate their clients about early in the process. Here are a few tips on how paint can help boost your home’s curb appeal and potentially help your home sell faster and above the asking price.
What Is Curb Appeal?
Before we jump into the role that paint can play in increasing your home’s curb appeal, let’s take a closer look at exactly what curb appeal is according to experts in the housing and real estate market.
Curb appeal is all about making your home’s outdoor space look as attractive as possible and promoting a positive first impression with potential buyers as they visit your property. Visiting your home may be done online via photographs or by visiting the property during an open house or showing. Either way, a positive first impression is important to create, especially in our current high stakes housing market.
Home buyers make a judgment about a property and a home very quickly upon first laying their eyes on it. In fact, a Princeton research study once found that people tend to gain impressions of people and objects within a tenth of a second and that those initial ideas can be very hard to shake over time!
That means if your home does not make a positive first impression immediately, it may be hard to convince a buyer to attend your open house or even scroll through your online pictures if the initial curb appeal is not positive.
The Purpose of Positive Curb Appeal
Curb appeal can tell home buyers quite a bit about a home in just a fraction of a second. Not only is the exterior of your home the first thing a prospective buyer will see, but it is also an indicator of how well-maintained the property is.
For instance, if the landscaping needs some work and the exterior paint is peeling or fading, it may convey to future buyers that a home is not being properly cared for and that concept could carry over to other major components of the property as well.
Additionally, small details like a new house number, mailbox, or freshly painted front door can send a signal that the home is more valuable because it has been regularly maintained. It can also make a property stand out from the rest of the competition by looking clean and fresh.
The Role Paint Can Play in Curb Appeal
Paint has enormous transformative powers. Here are just a few of the ways paint can make a positive impact on your home’s curb appeal.
A fresh coat of paint can:
- Make a dated space look fresh and new.
- Breathe new life into an older home.
- Highlight architectural details.
- Add visual interest with a new trendy color.
- Create contrast with colors on doors, windows, trim, and garage doors.
- Protect a home’s exterior from the elements of nature such as sun damage, precipitation, and salty air.
- Make a home stand out from the competition.
If you are looking to create a positive curb appeal with an exterior paint project, talk to our team about scheduling a quote and get started creating that attractive exterior for your home.
