In a housing market with a lot of competition, sellers make significant creative updates to stand out and improve a home's chances of selling. Granted, today's housing market favors the prepared seller.
But what home improvements add to the character of a home? With some simple, budget-friendly tweaks, sellers can spruce up curb appeal and showcase the home's best features. Making cosmetic changes also has the potential to add value to a property, and give prepared homeowners more bang for their buck.
A fresh coat of paint
Painting is the simplest, cost-effective improvement with the highest rate of return, so it’s not surprising that home sellers choose to do it. When trying to sell, a nice coat of neutral paint hides visual defects and instantly gives the entire house a facelift — a fresh blank canvas appeals to a larger pool of people.
Consider working with a trained home improvement professional to pick out the best paint colors that best suit your space depending on lighting and other aesthetic features such as furniture, cabinets and flooring.
New light fixtures
There's a reason why staging a home for sale is so crucial. Its purpose is to make potential home buyers feel welcome as soon as they open the front door so they can imagine themselves living there. The right lighting can do wonders when it comes to making a great impression.
A well-lit foyer, for instance, evokes a bright image that gets the walk-through of a home off to a brilliant start — while strategic placement of lighting can provide direct attention to particular areas that you wish to highlight — ambient lighting increases the living space’s cozy feeling while accentuating its “wow” factor all at the same time.
Kitchen and bath facelift
The kitchen and bathroom are often the most important rooms to update. They, too, can be improved to make a big impact. Even better, when both rooms are upgraded, home shoppers are more forgiving of other outdated areas. Simple things like replacing outdated fixtures and appliances, swapping out generic or older cabinet handles, upgrading countertops, adding a new toilet seat and a pedestal sink can make a house look fabulous without costing a fortune.
Extra visual interest with curtains
Windows can be one of the focal points of the room, so having them outfitted with the right curtains, plantation shutters or draperies will highlight their aesthetics and give character to your interior space. Fabric curtains and draperies that look tacky and cheap take away from the room’s visual appeal, and can steer potential buyers away from feeling comfortable in a home.
Whether you’re going for a modern, minimalist, traditional or country home staging, quality custom window treatments fit in with just about any décor and can result in a one to two percent increase in home value.
Improved curb appeal
As potential home buyers approach a home, their first impressions are important factors in the price they are willing to pay. Paying close attention to the landscaping can make home viewers feel welcome and excited. A nicely mowed green lawn, a few well-placed and neatly pruned shrubs, newly planted seasonal colorful plants and a good walkway clean-up exude the greatest appeal.
Final thoughts
It’s important to allow buyers to see the potential of your property. By making essential home cosmetic improvements and staging your property, buyers can really put themselves in your home in everyday situations and see if it would complement their lifestyle. Nail these few yet essential upgrades and you’re halfway to the closing table!
