Is now the time to be thinking about your home’s curb appeal? Truthfully, this is an excellent time to begin to plan your exterior improvements. And with Christmas a couple weeks away, gift certificates to our local lawn and garden stores may prove profitable.
Why be concerned about your home’s curb appeal? In today’s market, if your home doesn’t give a quality first impression your home may linger on the market longer than it has too.
Your landscaping needs to exceed the expectations of today’s buyers. Your home will be facing stiff competition
. What will make buyers pause when they see your home as their driving or surfing through listings online?
. What will make buyers pause when they see your home as their driving or surfing through listings online?But before you decide to spend money and time in improving your home’s curb appeal it’s important to know how much money you’ll get back with a higher sale price.
The National Association of Realtors has released the 2008 Remodeling Cost Vs. Value Report which documents the return on investment of many common improvements. Following are a sample of the reports findings:
- wood deck-81.8%
- mid-range vinyl siding-80.7%
- foam-backed vinyl siding-80.4%
- window replacement-76%
- kitchen remodel-79.5%
- bathroom remodel-74.4%
- mid-range attic-to-bedroom conversion-73.6%
- mid-range basement remodel-72.7%
The worst bang-for-your-buck includes home office remodels, sun room additions as well as back-up generators, which all returned just over half of the project costs.
Takeaways:
- any mid-range remodel returns a higher percentage than a high-end remodel
- keep the exterior shell of your home in excellent condition (siding and windows)
- gathering places continue to rank high in return on investment (deck addition and updated kitchen)
- a high-end remodel, although eye-catching, will not return a high percentage
- high-end remodels will pay off even less in the Wisconsin Rapids area because the average sale price is less than $125,000
Any amount of money you can spend on your home’s curb appeal will pay dividends. It doesn’t have to cost you thousands of dollars either. Add a flower bed. Add mulch to an existing flower bed. Do what you can to keep your grass green this year. Power wash your homes exterior. Add window boxes. Add visual interest to your porch. Paint your entry door. All of these ideas cost less than a hundred dollars but each draws interest to your home.
I’ll leave you with a quote that that got tossed around back when I coached basketball at Lincoln–”Plan your work and work your plan.” It’s never to early to start…
Have questions about what else you should do to prepare your house to sell? Drop me a line and I’ll be glad to help.
PHONE: (608) 542-0178
My name is Adam Holberg and I’m a Realtor with First Weber of Wisconsin Rapids. This website is designed to inform and help bring conversation to a topic I love, real estate.