The real estate market is competitive. Millions of homes hit the market every year, and on top of that, new properties are constantly being built. When you’re selling a house, you want to take every step to beat the competition. Before you list your house, check out the following home improvement steps to enhance its appeal.
Upgrade Your Kitchen
There are two rooms in the house considered most important to buyers: the kitchen and the master bathroom. Make these your priority. Easy fixes for the kitchen include replacing old appliances, installing new cabinets, and revamping the countertops. Since countertops take up a large amount of the surface area in the room, modifying them can enhance its aesthetic appeal. According to Realtor.com, possible materials include granite, laminate, and marble. Quartz is a popular option; it's nonporous, making it very resistant to stains, and can be easily cleaned with mild dish soap and water.
Add Luxury to the Bathroom
The master bathroom is the second most important room of the house when it comes to winning over buyers. Adding a feeling of luxury to this space can be a great selling point. You don't have to tear apart the entire room — small touches will do! For example, fresh tiles can quickly spruce up the space. Other tricks include letting in more natural light, switching to a barrier-free shower to create more room, and adding stone elements (for instance, with a stylish stone sink). Finally, once any improvements are complete, the staging of this bathroom can make a difference. Add a lavender bouquet to the counter, put a basket of pretty soaps in place, and hang some fluffy white towels to give the feeling of a luxury hotel.
Declutter and Deep Clean the Entire Home
Every room in the house should be decluttered before you show the property to buyers. Messy homes have been shown to cause feelings of stress, which is not the emotion you want to create. Additionally, removing clutter can help make rooms look more spacious.
To keep your items safe and the house tidy, put objects into storage while you are showing the home. A temporary storage unit can safely house your possessions, and you can then move these items directly to your new home from the unit when you're ready. To truly create a clutter-free sanctuary in your home, work with the pros at House to Home Organizing! Once clutter is cleared away, you can hire a professional cleaning service to get your house sparkling.
Once you’ve addressed clutter and cleaning, it’s time to stage your home. Now is the time to depersonalize and remove bold pieces or art or furniture. Try to find a balance between warmth and minimalism. Change up the decor, move around furniture or add enhancements that showcase certain parts of the home.
Don’t Neglect the Exterior
Making a house marketable starts with the outside. It takes mere seconds to make a first impression on people — and their first impression of a piece of real estate is the exterior. Curb appeal refers to the view people have of a home from a street, and enhancing it can help you sell a property faster. Start by power washing the exterior of the home to get rid of dirt, grime, and pollen. Then, mow the lawn, prune hedges, and trim trees for an orderly appearance. You can further amp up the aesthetic appeal by adding some color; for example, fill planters with vibrant flowers and place them near the front door.
Beef up your curb appeal by repainting your home’s exterior. This is a large job, and costs will depend on how many stories you have, the region you live in, material type, and other factors. Another way to improve your home’s exterior is to install a new fence. The cost of adding a fence to your property will depend on the materials you use, size of the fence, and where you’re located. Avoid working with uninsured or unlicensed contractors and always insist on a detailed written estimate.
Following the above steps will make your house more appealing to potential buyers. The added effort may even mean you can command a higher price. You will then have more money to put towards your new house.
