Whether you’re planning on selling your home or simply want to maintain your home’s beautiful exterior throughout the winter months, maintaining your home’s exterior and curb appeal in winter may seem daunting, because, what do you really need to do?
Some might think curb appeal during the winter months is nothing since it doesn’t compare to spring and summer’s requirements such as landscaping, gardening, and mowing the grass on a regular basis.
However, maintaining curb appeal in winter is just as important.
Why is it just as important? On average, more than 25% of home sales in any given year are done within the winter months of January, February, and March. With more than 25% of home sales occurring during the winter months and holiday season, winter curb appeal is a step in the right direction for getting your home ready for sale.
In today’s article, I’m going over my 8 best tips to boost winter curb appeal.
What Is Curb Appeal?
Before we get started, we need to first understand what curb appeal is.
Curb appeal, a term predominantly used by REALTORS® but has grown to be used in other professions is the aesthetic attractiveness of the entire exterior of a property in the eyes of the general public or prospective buyer.
Why Does Your Home's Curb Appeal Matter In Winter?
Now that we know what curb appeal is, we need to understand why it matters, especially during the winter.
For starters, we already know a pretty significant stat which is more than 25% of home sales in any given year occur during the winter months of January, February, and March. With such a large portion of the real estate market activity being conducted in the early, cold months of the year, the curb appeal of your home to impress potential buyers is critical.
Not only will curb appeal help you impress potential buyers but even if you’re not selling your home in January, winter curb appeal is also important for safety reasons which is tip number one on our list of improving winter curb appeal – clearing the snow and ice.
1 - Clear The Snow & Ice
Over the past few years, it feels like we have been getting less and less snow but we can always rely on a few major snowfalls in February to remind us.
When the snow begins to fall and we are covered in a blanket of snow, make sure you clear driveways from snow and ice. Don’t forget to do the same for front walkways, sidewalks, steps, and your front porch.
This is critically important whether you’re selling your home or not for safety reasons.
You do not want visitors arriving at your property, slipping on the front walkway, falling, and hurting themselves.
2 - Add Cold-Weather Plants
We all know about the importance of landscaping in spring and summer for summer curb appeal but what can we do similarly for winter curb appeal? We can add cold-weather plants to the front porch planters!
You can find a ton of lists online that recommend some great cold-weather plants and winter flowers which look great all year round, but the most common outdoor plant we will see during the winter months is an evergreen tree.
Evergreen trees are great for curb appeal since they add a nice touch of colour and greenery amongst the white and grey. You can decorate your evergreen branches with string lights to add some soft glow light to your exterior. It will add interest to the front of your home and help make it look not as dark.
3 - Update Your Front Door
Your front door is always the main focal point. With it being the centre of attention, you want to make sure it gives a good first impression with maximum impact. Updating your front door can mean a few things such as giving it a fresh coat of paint or installing new door hardware.
Giving your front door a fresh coat of paint will instantly create curb appeal especially if you’re using brightly coloured paint. The bright colour of the door will contrast against the white of the snow and the greys and browns of the surrounding environment.
Updating your hardware during the winter will make for a better showing experience if your home is listed for sale. The number of times I’ve visited old, war-time bungalows with original front door hardware is countless. In the summertime, it is never an issue. However, it is a completely different story during the winter when locks tend to seize or get frozen! This is a pain for potential buyers because they might not even be able to gain access to the house. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen.
Avoid this costly error by updating the hardware on your front door.
4 - Add Warm Outdoor Lighting
Whether it’s the front porch light or the lighting installed in the eavestrough, if you can control the light temperature, opt for warm-toned colours such as yellow and oranges. You might be tempted to go for the cool-white or daylight-coloured lights but those make the house feel cold and too sterile.
Warm outdoor lights make your home feel cozy and charming.
You may also want to investigate illuminating your house numbers! With the days getting shorter and the sun setting by 5:30, having house numbers that you can easily see from the street make it easier for everyone to see they’re at the right house. Plus, it adds a bit of style to your home.
5 - Create A Warm Glow
Speaking of warm coloured light, let the warmth of the inside of your home spread outdoors – figuratively.
For rooms which are facing the street and have a window visible from the curb, consider using warm-coloured lighting in those rooms as well. The glow of warm lighting coming from the window boxes paired with the warm exterior lights will create a welcoming environment and will create great curb appeal. It will also highlight your home’s architecture.
6 - Clean The Gutters
If it’s not too late into the season when the snow has fallen, ice has accumulated and you can’t be outside for longer than 10 minutes, make sure you clean your gutters. You will thank yourself when spring comes around.
Having clean gutters will help you avoid some significant damage in the spring. When the ice and snow start to melt, if the gutters are not clean, water will get backed up and find alternate routes to get down to the ground. This may be along walls, through roofs, and other unfavourable areas.
Consistent water and dampness in areas where it shouldn’t be wet in damp will be prone to water damage.
7 - Tidy The Lawn
Having a tidy lawn is great for curb appeal because everything is more noticeable during the winter when colours are muted and everything seems barren.
Before the snow has fallen make sure lawn equipment and pine cones are cleared from the front yard.
Additionally, consider removing any seasonal-related items such as a bird feeder. Although it may help animals as they prepare for hibernation during the early winter months, you might not want to have an old, rusted bird feeder easily noticeable at the front of your house. This is one of the most important steps because the front yard sets buyers’ opinions on how the rest of the showing will go.
8 - Christmas Decorations
Christmas decorations or other holiday decorations are a tricky topic. If it is prior to the date of the holiday you are celebrating, for example, prior to December 25th for Christmas, I would say tasteful decorations should be encouraged.
I would not leave decorations up going into January if you are planning to sell your home.
Final Thoughts On How To Boost Winter Curb Appeal
Creating inviting winter curb appeal is a critical step when planning to sell your home during the winter months of December, January, February, and even March. The fundamental goal of creating winter curb appeal is to make your home inviting to a potential buyer. This means a clear driveway, easy-to-read address numbers, walkways clear of snow and ice, and the house is taken care of.
In today’s real estate market, every marketing option should be taken into consideration, even open houses. Yes, open houses in the winter are still great marketing tools to entice serious potential buyers to walk through your home. But, you will only get them to stop if you have taken the proper steps to maintain your home’s curb appeal during the winter months.
If you’re considering selling your home during the winter, connect with a full-service real estate agent such as Marco Pedri, Broker with Shoreline Realty Corp., Brokerage who can help you navigate the real estate market during the winter season. Marco Pedri offers each client a free home evaluation with no obligations before listing a house for sale to make sure selling your home makes the most financial sense.
