curb appeal

The dollars and cents sale value of a house is only one factor in looking at its total value. Another factor that is of equal importance is salability. If you have a house that you have done millions of dollars of work on, but that work has been stuff that you and only you like, the dollars and cents value drops because the salability factor drops. Likewise, if you do simple improvements that make your house more eye catching and boost the curb appeal, that can increase the salability of your house. With increased salability you have a much better chance of getting your asking price and the dollar and cents value goes up.

People see a house for sale at night for the first time about 40% of the time. They drive by a listing on their way home from work or go out after dinner to drive by and get a look before they call the real estate agent. That means just under half the people who might want to by your house will see it at night for the first time.

What will they see?

A well-lit home with accent lighting that enhances the features and creates a warm and inviting feel is going to get a better response than a house with a front door light and a couple of clip on flood lights on the garage. A house that has the features of its landscaping enhanced by the lighting design will get more attention than the one that people think might have a tree or maybe a big bush in the dark. . .over there. . . by the… I think it’s a fence. . .

HGTV’s “Curb Appeal” reports that 69% of all home buyers rate curb appeal in the top 3 things they look for in a house. If 40% of them will see your house for the first time at night, 27.6% of the potential home buyers will be looking for the curb appeal of your house — the wow factor — and they’ll be doing it for the first time at night.

The host of Curb Appeal, John Gidding once described curb appeal as “more than just a glance of great, but an unfolding of fabulous”. In other words, the curb appeal of the property is more than just a well-lit house. It is the area around the house and how well the features flow. It is the driveway and the safety of paths and steps, or seeing the trees and fixtures and how well the lighting system showcases them at night, without being a blinding floodlight nightmare. It is the property as a whole and not just a pretty view. It is how it all works together to create a beautiful property, your property . . . Your unique, one of a kind, perfect property. It’s the aesthetics as a whole that makes the viewer say “wow”.

A lot of things promise to add to the value of the house. Accent outdoor lighting will add value and salability to your house giving you a double dip of return for your investment dollar.

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