Spring is here, the weather is beautiful, and home buyers are out looking! If you’re thinking of selling your home in Raleigh, now is the time to list it. But before you simply place it on the market, here’s how you can improve your outdoor spaces—to market and sell your Raleigh home for more money!
Why Are Outdoor Spaces So Important?
Raleigh is known as the City of Oaks, much-loved by its residents and visitors for its great parks and scenic outdoor areas. But what’s even better than driving to the nearest park to get some outdoors time? Walking out your doors to enjoy your own private slice of outdoor bliss! It doesn’t have to be a big or extravagant yard—even sprucing up your front porch or back patio can add value to your home. Here’s how to do it!
Make Your Outdoor Spaces Into an Outdoor Lifestyle
Adding value to an outdoor space isn’t just about throwing some furniture on a deck. Define the space; showcase a lifestyle. Here are some easy ways:
• Show how to use the space. Have a large deck? Add a dining table, and set it. Have a small porch that gets great sunlight? Add a comfy chair and side table, and add some magazines or a book to show a great reading spot. Build a firepit in your backyard or add a fireplace and some loungy armchairs to your patio for a fun entertaining area.
• Make it weather-friendly. Summer in Raleigh gets hot. So add some shade with an awning or pergola. It can be windy, so shield your firepit or grill with a windscreen. Woodsy areas can be buddy, so protect against pests by screening in your deck.
• Make it easy to use devices. Nowadays, everybody’s connected—even outside. So make it easy to stay connected (to encourage more outdoor time) with some simple tweaks, like adding a wifi antenna to boost your signal, adding an outdoor plug or solar chargers, or bringing some wireless speakers outside to add a little mood music.
• Give your home an indoor/outdoor lifestyle. Blur the line between inside and out by switching standard doors with sliding doors or French doors (and leaving them open during showings). Keep the same style of furniture in your living room as on your deck or patio. Even add weatherproof flooring to your inside room.
Stage Your Spaces to Sell
Now that you’ve defined a lifestyle, it’s time to add the finishing touches to really upsell those outdoor areas. Replace your old furniture with comfortable and stylish new outdoor chairs, couches, and tables. Enhance your outdoor area’s safety by adding lights to walkways, rails, and steps. Add some mood lighting with sconces, pendant lights, or hanging string lights. And don’t forget to add some color—bright furniture, potted or hanging plants—and remove any and all excess furniture, clutter, or junk.
Don’t Forget the Yard!
In your quest to beautify your porch or deck, don’t forget about your backyard or lawn! Keep it mowed, prune bushes and shrubs, weed and mulch your garden (and plant some bright flowers), rake dead leaves and fallen branches, trim overhanging or dead branches, and make sure your walkways are clean and accessible.
Thinking of Selling Your Raleigh Home?
If you’re thinking of selling a home in Raleigh, it’s time to contact Team Ruby Henderson. We can help you learn more about the services we provide when you list your home with us (like our professional home staging services), give you an accurate home value to price your home to sell, and provide more tips on how to get your home ready to sell.
Posted on 08/23/2017 at 09:00 AM
