Can my deck or patio help me sell my home?

for a home is its patio or deck!  Especially during the spring, summer and fall months, a deck is such an inviting addition to the features of a home, beckoning the buyer to enjoy the yard!  It’s a seamless extension of the home in those months.  But these seasons are optimal for outdoor living…what about marketing your home during the winter months?  Staging your deck — or just presenting your outdoor living areas in their most appealing light — really enhances the visual appeal of your entire home.  For example, the picture of the lovely deck — in great condition, roomy, in a pretty yard — looks very marketable.  It’s clean, sleek and ready to entertain!

 

Now add a bit of furniture to the deck and it begins to really add to its appeal!  The buyer starts to visualize the space as an additional room, not just a structure on the rear of the house…and think of the subconscious effect on the home buyer as they see it as an extension of the living area of the home!  Now the house actually begins to feel larger to them!  Plus, you’ve now differentiated your home — even in the great spring, summer and fall months — from every other listing they’ve just visited!

Now let’s take this one step further and add some color to the deck!  Think of the buyer’s reaction to your house versus ALL the other similar homes they have seen on  their long day of house hunting.  You have added color and accents, such as table linens, pillows and plants.  Especially in the winter months, when everything else is so dreary and gray, your deck and its furnishings and colorful accents beckon the weary buyer and give them one more reason — possibly the tie-breaker! — to buy your home and leave the others!

This same strategy works in the “hot” months as well…using blues and greens to generate a cooling effect on the visitor!

So use that deck or patio and make the most of your outside asset!