After living in a home for a number of years, we tend to stop noticing our surroundings, which is why these 5 easy improvements to attract a homebuyer will be timely for you if you're thinking about selling.
When you’re ready to put your house on the market, you should make not only the obvious changes—decluttering, cleaning thoroughly, and getting the lawn and garden in shape—but also other small but significant changes.
Implementing just five easy improvements will subtly increase the appeal of your house to buyers without them realising why.
If making your home more attractive to buyers easily without spending a lot of time or money sounds good to you, here’s how to achieve it.
Easy improvement 1: Define the space
Potential buyers spend a limited time inspecting your home and the perceptions they gain on their first viewing stay with them, so it’s important that each room has a defined purpose.
If buyers can tell that do your ironing in the living room while watching television, it sends them a subliminal message about the purpose of the room that doesn’t equate to relaxation.
Likewise, the presence of children’s toys in the dining room can detract from the fine-dining feeling that a buyer may be seeking.
Before inspections check that each room’s contents reflects its purpose.
Easy improvement 2: Unblock the sight lines
Blocked sight lines will make buyers feel that your house is cramped and make it difficult for them to recall the layout once they leave.
Arrange your furniture and decorations so that the sight lines between each room are clear and the paths between them obvious.
Easy improvement 3: Highlight focal points with clever use of colour
There’s a good reason for stoplights being red.
Red attracts your attention because it is an advancing colour, as are yellow and orange.
Advancing colours seem to come towards you when you look at them.
Blue, purple and green are receding colours that seem to move into the background when you look at them.
Use advancing colours for the features or areas you want to highlight and receding colours for those you want to play down.
While this tip also applies to painting, you can take advantage of this colour principle just by changing your accessories.
Easy improvement 4: Fill your home with warm, bright light
Stark, white light is great if you’re performing surgery, not so much if you’re spending time in your home.
Warm, bright lighting will give your home a welcoming glow, as opposed to the cold, clinical glare of bright, white lighting.
To achieve the glow, replace bright, white light globes with warmer-toned ones in the maximum wattage for which the fitting is rated.
Easy improvement 5: Softly, softly—fix those creaks and squeaks
If it remains unattended to for long enough, even the most annoying creak or squeak in your home can just blend into the ambient noise.
However, buyers will notice every such noise and be irritated and even concerned by them.
Before inspections attend to every creak from doors, floors and stairs, and to every squeaking hinge, including those on outside gates.
The very best way to attract a homebuyer: Use an expert agent
McGrath Real Estate can offer you great tips on how to attract buyers because we know the local market inside out.
We’ve been buying and selling homes in Adelaide’s coastal and western suburbs for more than forty-five years.
Talk to us about the positive difference we can make to your experience of buying or selling your home by arranging for a free property appraisal.