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Curb appeal ideas: cheap, quick fixes before you list
The cheapest curb appeal ideas are a mowed and fed lawn, fresh mulch and a few potted plants, a clean or repainted front door, new house numbers and working porch lights. They pay: in a 2023 NAR survey, 92% of Realtors had told sellers to improve curb appeal before listing, and a $415 lawn care program was estimated to add $900 at sale.
By Emil Thomsen, Founder of October · Updated
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What curb appeal is, and why it matters before listing
Curb appeal is how a home looks from the street: the lawn, the planting, the front door, the paint, the driveway and the lights. It matters twice when you sell, once when buyers drive by and once in the first listing photo, which is usually the front of the house.
Realtors treat it as part of getting a home ready. In the National Association of Realtors' 2023 Remodeling Impact Report on outdoor features, written with the National Association of Landscape Professionals:
- 92% of Realtors had suggested sellers improve their curb appeal before listing.
- 97% said curb appeal is important in attracting a buyer (75% very important, 22% somewhat).
Cheap and quick curb appeal ideas
Start with the things a buyer sees in the first ten steps from the sidewalk. Most of these are a weekend and a trip to the hardware store.
- Front door. Wash it, tighten or replace the handle and knocker, and repaint it if the color is faded or chipped. Add a new doormat.
- House numbers. Replace small, tarnished or missing numbers with clear ones that can be read from the street.
- Lawn. Mow, edge along the walk and driveway, and feed or weed it a few weeks ahead so it has time to green up.
- Beds and plants. Pull weeds, add fresh mulch, trim shrubs off the windows and walk, and put two matching planters by the door.
- Lighting. Replace dead bulbs, use the same color of bulb in every outdoor fixture, and clean the glass. Swap a dated porch light if it is broken or rusted.
- Driveway and walk. Sweep, pull weeds from the cracks and pressure-wash stains.
- Paint and trim. Touch up peeling trim, shutters and the garage door. Repainting the whole exterior is a bigger job; ask your agent if it is worth it for your market.
- Clear the clutter. Put away hoses, bins, toys, tools and holiday decorations, and fix or remove a broken mailbox.
Inside, the same idea applies room by room; our guide on how to stage a house for sale covers the rest of the home.
What curb appeal projects are worth
NAR's outdoor report asked landscape professionals for the cost of typical projects and Realtors for the value they would add at sale. Upkeep came out ahead of big builds:
| Outdoor project (NAR, 2023) | Estimated cost recovered at sale |
|---|---|
| Standard lawn care service | 217% |
| Landscape maintenance | 104% |
| Overall landscape upgrade | 100% |
| New patio | 95% |
| Tree care | 87% |
| Landscape lighting | 59% |
| In-ground pool addition | 56% |
The lawn care project was six seasonal fertilizer or weed-control treatments on 5,000 square feet of lawn, estimated at $415 with $900 of value at sale. Landscape maintenance (mulch, mowing, pruning shrubs and planting about 60 flowers) was $4,800 for $5,000 of value. The estimates assume a 2,500-square-foot house on a 14,000-square-foot lot, and prices vary by region.
For the front door, NAR's 2025 Remodeling Impact Report put a new steel front door at 100% cost recovery and a new fiberglass front door at 80%. The project Realtors most often recommend before listing in that report is painting the whole home (50%).
How to photograph the front of the house
The work only pays off if the listing photo shows it. A few rules for the front:
- Pick the light. Shoot when the sun is on the front of the house or the sky is evenly bright, not when the facade is in deep shadow. A dusk photo with every light on is a strong second exterior; see twilight real estate photos with an iPhone.
- Move the cars. Clear the driveway and the street in front, and close the garage door.
- Stand at a corner angle. A shot from about 45 degrees shows the front and one side and gives the house depth; add one straight-on photo too.
- Keep the camera at chest height and level. Shooting from too low or tilting up makes walls lean in.
- Check the details. Bins away, lights on, door closed, blinds even, no hose on the lawn.
Our guide on how to take pictures of your house to sell walks through the rest of the shot list, inside and out.
Photos and a walkthrough with October
Once the front and the rooms are ready, the October app is one way to get listing photos from your own phone: it guides you through each room on an iPhone 12 or newer, showing where to stand and keeping the phone level, and an image model then makes finished photos from your capture, usually within a few hours. A place is up to 6 rooms; a bigger home counts as several. Photos cost $49 a place, $99 with a walkthrough video, and the first place is free. Check each photo before you list. See pricing.
Questions
What are cheap ways to improve curb appeal?
Mow, edge and feed the lawn, pull weeds and add fresh mulch, put planters by the door, wash or repaint the front door, replace the house numbers, fix outdoor lights and sweep or pressure-wash the driveway.
Is curb appeal worth it when selling?
Realtors think so: in NAR's 2023 outdoor report, 92% had suggested sellers improve curb appeal before listing and 97% said it is important in attracting a buyer. Lawn care was estimated to recover 217% of its cost at sale.
Does a new front door add value?
In NAR's 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, a new steel front door had an estimated 100% cost recovery and a new fiberglass front door 80%. Cleaning or repainting the existing door costs far less.
Which landscaping adds the most value?
In NAR's 2023 report, upkeep beat big builds: standard lawn care recovered an estimated 217% of its cost and landscape maintenance 104%, against 59% for landscape lighting and 56% for an in-ground pool.
When should I photograph the front of my house?
When the front is evenly lit rather than in deep shadow, with cars moved, the garage closed and lights on. A twilight photo with the lights on makes a good second exterior.