When you talk to many Santa Cruz real estate agents about selling your home, one of the first things they’ll tell you is the importance of curb appeal. The phrase refers to how beautiful or appealing your home looks from the outside.
Your real estate agent will probably have a ton of advice on how to improve your home’s curb appeal. This includes fixing the paint and all the fixtures of the home, improving the lighting, and beautifying your lawn and front yard. You can’t just dismiss these tips even though they seem like extremely minor improvements. Actually, they are far more important than you think.
People Judge the Book by Its Cover
The advice about not judging a book by its cover is popular because it’s actually a common human weakness. It’s literally true; go to a bookstore and the cover of a book is what will catch your eye. People simply judge according to appearances.
Why do you think people dress up when they go to a job interview, a meeting with a potential client, or when going out on a date for the first time? The same principle holds true. They want to look good because they judge other people by how they look.
And this applies to houses as well. People look at your home from the outside first. They see a picture of it online and will make an appointment if they like what they see. So the best interior design in the world won’t matter when the curb appeal is bad enough that potential home buyers don’t even think your home is worth a visit. Why would they want to own something that they think is unattractive?
Potential Value
Even if a potential homebuyer is willing to consider buying your home, the curb appeal also affects how much they think your home is really worth. And that’s why improving curb appeal is so important. Your efforts won’t cost much, but they can help you get a fair price for your property.
For example, simply getting rid of all the trash and your children’s toys in the front yard won’t cost you anything, but a clean yard may be able to attract more potential buyers. A broken window doesn’t cost much to fix, but the sight of that can really lower the perceived value of your home.
Safety Issues
There’s also the safety issue to consider. You don’t want dark spots near or around your home where bad people can easily hide without getting caught. There has to be ample illumination so that potential buyers can feel safe when they imagine themselves living in your home.
For all these reasons, curb appeal is crucial. So listen to your agent and do your research about how you can improve your home’s curb appeal. This is one of the most cost-effective ways of increasing the value of your home.
