Fall Curb Appeal Ideas to Help You Sell Your House This Season

If you’re getting ready to sell your house, it’s important to consider its curb appeal. You should also consider the season you’re selling in — in this case, the fall — because it will impact some of the choices you make.

6 Easy Fall House Curb Appeal Ideas

1. Improve your front entry

When talking about fall curb appeal ideas, your entryway is one of the things that matters the most. It will, after all, serve as the buyers’ first impression of the home and their entry point into your home’s interior.

Here is a list of a few things you can do to make your entryway pop:

• Repaint your front door
• Hang a set of new house numbers
• Put out a welcome mat
• Decorate your exterior stairs with potted plants

Truth be told, any combination of these factors will refresh your home exterior and front entry and make it more visually appealing to a potential buyer. Choose a few to breathe new life into the area just outside your front door.

2. Let there be light

As fall progresses, it will start getting darker earlier and earlier each day. With that in mind, you’ll want to make sure that any potential buyers that come to your home on a showing have plenty of light to lead their way.

Consider adding lighting to both sides if you have a walkway leading up to your front door. Alternatively, if you just have steps leading up to a front stoop, ensure that the light by your front door functions properly and consider adding some extra overhead lighting into the mix.

3. Keep up with landscaping

Next, it’s time to take a look at your landscaping. While making sure your lawn is mowed, flowers are watered, and any shrubbery is properly pruned is par for the course no matter what time of year you decide to sell your home. It’s especially important in the fall.

Here, not only do you want to keep the grass cut, but you’ll also want to take the time to rake leaves as often as possible. Having tons of leaves around can leave the impression that the property is unkempt, which can be a turnoff to a prospective buyer. Leaves also tend to get slippery when wet, which can turn into a slip-and-fall hazard if you aren’t careful.

4. Keep decor neutral

For many people, fall is the time to break out the decor. From Halloween decorations to seasonal fare, there’s no end to the possibilities. Normally, you’d be well within your rights as the homeowner to decorate however you wish. That said, when you’re getting ready to sell, it’s important to keep your choice of decor more neutral.

The logic behind this ask is simple: when your home is on the market, you want to appeal to the most buyers possible. After all, the more buyers who like your home, the better your chances of getting an offer. The neutral decor will appeal to the vast majority of buyers, while more personalized decor may turn some people off.

With that said, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get into the fall spirit at all. Rather, simply use these items sparingly and stick to generic seasonal looks rather than holiday-specific items, which may not appeal to everyone.

5. Embrace fall plants and flowers

You may think that gardening is a spring and summer activity. However, when your home is on the market, it’s important to keep gardening all year round. Put simply, using plants and flowers to decorate your home is a great way to pump up your curb appeal for pennies on the dollar.

In particular, chrysanthemums (mums), pansies, celosia, and purple fountain grass are great seasonal choices to add some autumn flair to your home.

That said, if you don’t have a green thumb, consider hiring a landscaper to do the job. When done well, landscaping can have a decent return on investment. According to some estimates, the right landscaping can add between 5% and 20% of value to your home.

6. Test out the buyer’s point of view

Lastly, don’t forget to test out your home’s curb appeal from the buyer’s point of view. You can either set a dedicated time to do this or simply remember to take a look the next time you return home from running an errand. Either way, the process is the same.

You’ll want to stand on the curb and take in the view of how your home’s exterior looks. When you’re satisfied and have spruced everything up with house curb appeal ideas, you know you’ll be ready to put your home on the market. But, if you’re not happy, don’t be afraid to make tweaks until you’re happy with the end product.