Selling your house? Kick up the curb appeal.

The late spring this year seems to be delaying more than just the tulips. The real estate industry, which is typically going full steam ahead at this time of year, has also seen a slow start.

It’s not strange that a delay in nice weather would affect sales, but that’s no consolation if YOUR house is on the market. So what can you do to make your house stand out in the crowd? Improve your curb appeal. The first thing a potential buyer will see whether it’s online or drive-by, is the street view of your house. So take a little extra time to spruce up your front door and hopefully you will nail the sale.

Here’s our tips for improving curb appeal:

Tidy up your gardens and walkways

Even if you can’t plant anything in the front garden yet, there’s no reason you can’t clean and rake everything to make sure it looks great. Weed the garden, cut back anything dead from last fall and clear out all the brown leaves. Consider lining the garden with black mulch, it’s relatively inexpensive and it looks fabulous.  Sweep the walkways and remove any weeds from the cracks of the stones or pavement. If the weather does warm up, consider planting a few shrubs in the front of the house. They are low maintenance and give the look of expensive landscaping without a lot of effort.

Paint your front door

The front door is the focal point of your house. Depending on the accent colours of your house, consider painting it a bold colour like red or black to really draw attention. Clean the window, polish the handle and wipe away any mud or grime from the door. If you have room, add an inexpensive floor mat in front of the door that picks up on the colours of your house and keep the front entrance swept clean as much as possible.

Add a bold container

Everybody loves flowers and your buyers are no exception. Even if the weather is cool you can add loads of visual interest with a large container arrangement. Look for something with bright attractive colours that  will match your house colours. Splurge a bit and go for something bigger than you might normally, but remember to water it and take it in at night if the temperature is dipping below 12.

Do you have any curb appeal tips? Share them in our comments.