First impressions matter when meeting new people, interviewing for a new job, and, of course, when selling a home. However, the first impression in real estate is far from shaking hands and making good eye contact. It’s all about how your property looks when potential buyers first pull up to the curb.

Your home's curb appeal reflects both the state of the house and the people currently living there. That’s why you want to do everything in your power to create an attractive and well-looked-after image of your property. After all, you’ve put the work in to maintain your home’s integrity, and you want that to show through when people come to take their first look.

While upping your curb appeal may seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be when you focus on the right things.

Clean Things Up

Before you hit the market, you might be so enthralled in staging the inside of your home that you forget that what people see first will create an unconscious bias of what the inside looks like and how cared for the property has been. That’s why you want to improve your curb appeal by cleaning things up.

This means power washing siding or brick, cleaning your gutters, ensuring that loose roof tiles are nailed down, and making everything as sparkly and tidy as possible. This is also a great time to look at anything that might need repairing, such as the roof, side railings, or walkway stones, and get those jobs done first.

Focus on Landscaping

To create a welcoming environment for potential buyers, you’ll need to put some effort into landscaping. You should trim, weed, rake, and mulch as much as possible to ensure it looks fresh and tidy. You should also keep the lawn freshly mowed, add some fresh flowers to unlively flowerbeds, and create a naturally inviting outdoor space.

If you don’t have flowerbeds already, you don’t necessarily need to begin gardening like crazy to ensure they’re ready when potential buyers arrive. You can simply head out to your nearest garden center and get some hanging potted flower plants, window boxes, or other removable and easily installed planters.

Add Some Eye-Catching Touches

When deciding what will add interest to your property, consider subtle yet eye-catching additions. You can do this in a few ways. The first is upgrading or painting your front door and garage to make them pop. These areas will draw the eye in, and when they’re done correctly and in the right colour, they can make your home stand out against the competition.

Other minor upgrades include getting a new mailbox, upgrading the hardware on your door or garage, adding a floral wreath to the door, upgrading your house numbers to look more modern and revamped, and getting outdoor furniture that suits the space.

Don’t Forget About Lighting

There’s a sweet spot for lighting. Not enough, and the property will look less lively, but too much would be overkill. If your home already has a front porch light, consider upgrading the fixture to something more modern to match all your other upgrades. You also want to ensure that dark pathways up to the front porch are well-lit but not blinding.

You can add small solar-powered pole-style path lights that create a clear path to walk while accenting the rest of your front-of-house lighting fixtures. This will create a welcoming environment simply by changing up the lights.

Curb appeal isn’t everything, but it matters more than many think. That’s why it’s crucial to spend some time improving the outward appearance of your home by cleaning, upgrading, and adding some stylish touches that make your home look brand new all over again.