Ajax Pickering Real Estate Blog

Curb appeal — that mix of architecture, landscape and colour that grabs the eye of passersby — makes a big difference in how people react to a house

Pedro Arrais, Special to Times Colonist

When it comes to choosing a home, first impressions count. The decision whether to look inside a house is usually based on a quick drive-by assessment. If a house has curb appeal, say real estate agents, buyers are more likely to want a look inside the house.

Curb appeal, like personal taste, is not easily defined. In general, it is a blend of architecture, design elements, colour, landscaping and other features that make a house attractive at first glance. Curb appeal can mean the difference between a house selling in a few weeks or sitting for months.

Heather Wilde, a real estate agent with 30 years experience, sums up what curb appeal means to her: “When I see an attractive house I think, ‘Ah, there is somebody I would like to know!’ I want to get inside to get to know them better,” says Wilde.

Her advice on creating curb appeal? “Put on a little lipstick and shine your shoes,” says Wilde.

Christina Stevens, 31, and her partner Sylvain Perron, 36, had been looking for a house seriously for a month before they drove by a house on Pelican Drive in the Royal Bay development in Colwood.

According to Stevens, the house was still under construction and the landscaping had yet to be installed. Still she remembers thinking, “That’s the house I want to see.” Without even a For Sale sign outside, she was confident it was the house for them.

“I just knew,” says Stevens, “that if the inside was as nice as the outside, that was the house for us.”

So what do the experts say will add to a property’s curb appeal?

ARCHITECTURE

A house’s initial design serves as the base to all the other elements, says Steve Akers, an architect with Stuart Howard Architects Inc.. Akers says the heritage or Arts and Crafts style popular these days has a timeless appeal because it has been around for the last 100 years. He suggests homeowners choose the best materials — such as siding and trim boards — that they can afford.

“Finishes done poorly affect the visual appeal of a house,” says Akers.

He also suggests that, if you have the height above the front door, adding a transom — a window over a door — adds visual appeal.

A transom window over the front door will also improve the quality of light inside the house.

STYLE

“The style needs to flow,” says design consultant Mary Kehler. “It needs to flow in with the surroundings instead of standing out,” she says.

Kehler suggests that a house needs a sense of balance, both in the architectural style and with the landscape. Kehler is fond of blending rock faces into the house if she can because it creates a natural ambience. “The house can be too sterile without it,” she says.

LIGHTING

“Don’t make your home look like a landing strip,” warns Elaine Richardson of Illuminations Lighting Solutions. She is referring to houses with too many dim lights trying unsuccessfully to illuminate a pathway.

“A few well-placed lights are much more effective,” she says. According to Richardson, a simple way to give any house a “quiet wow” is the installation of a four-to-five inch pot light to highlight the front door.

“The idea is to highlight beauty without being garish,” says Richardson.

LANDSCAPING

Duane Ensing of Landscape Solutions in advises owners to incorporate “exterior architecture” elements into their new home.

“In the transition from landscape to home, it helps to create visual appeal by varying heights and introducing screening for the plants to be displayed against,” says Ensing.

If there is money in the budget, he advises that homeowners consider water features and rock in the garden. It is also important to take into account how big the plants you choose will become when they are mature.

PAINT

“Colour causes an emotional response,” says designer Robyn Bryson. She suggests that the colour of a house does not need to “shout” to be noticed.

“You can make a statement about grace and elegance with restraint and simplicity,” she says.

Kehler advises using contrasting colours to highlight exterior doors.

GARAGE DOOR/ENTRYWAY

Unless their house is situated in Oak Bay with a rear lane, most homeowners have to contend with a garage door facing the roadway.

Builder Gordon English of Jenco Construction says the best way to soften the appearance of the garage door is by painting it the same colour as the walls. Another strategy is to build a front verandah past the garage.

“The eye is drawn to the closest thing from the curb,” says English, “so the house becomes the focal point, not the garage door.”

He also advocates a curved walkway with steps to create some drama and interest.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

Joanne Hatherly, CanWest News Service

Despite what dear old Mom said, a lot of Canadians do judge a book by its cover, at least if the book is a house.

A recent study of Canadians shopping for a house found that first impressions, that is, a house’s curb appeal, matter more than price, lot size and square-footage.

Nationally, 46% of respondents said their yard catches their attention before anything else. The survey also found that 40% say that a deck or patio is the most important backyard feature to consider in a prospective home.

The study points to the importance of first impressions when it comes to selling a home.

“Curb appeal involves making small improvements to the inside and outside of the home that won’t cost a fortune, but can dramatically impact the look of your home,” says John DeFranco, Home Depot Canada’s merchandising director.

Here are a few tips from Home Depot on how to pretty up your house:

- Add potted plants around the doorway and porch. Place shrubs along the driveway and keep grass neatly cut to showcase your home.

- Repaint the garage door, front door and window shutters. Clean the windows.

- Renew hardwood by refinishing and staining it to make it look brand new. Consider replacing worn floors altogether.

- Update lighting fixtures and apply a new coat of paint to the house interior to erase the wear of everyday living.

- If you’re going to invest in renovations, consider starting with the kitchen, the most important room to prospective buyers. If that is beyond the reach of your budget, consider replacing the appliances and counters, then simply refacing the cabinets and hardware.

Leger Marketing surveyed 1,500 Canadian women between the ages of 18 and 49 years for this survey, which was commissioned by Home Depot Canada. The data was weighted against Statistics Canada to ensure a sample representative of the Canadian adult population. The maximum margin of error for a sample of 1,500 respondents is plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

Every home sale on average generates $32,000 to economy

Eric Beauchesne, CanWest News Service

Penny Fortier estimates her family of four has spent about $12,000 on moving-related expenses, such as new appliances and renovations, since buying a home in Toronto six months ago.

Fortier, a real estate agent, acknowledges she got off light, at least so far. “We’re doing things slowly, so there’s definitely more spending coming down the road,” she says.

Roughly one in every 100 jobs created in Canada over the three years was due directly or indirectly to home sales, the report says, noting the job creation impact of home sales varies by region, just as spending does.

Wayne Martin, who along with his wife moved less than a city block in Ottawa to a single-family home from a townhouse, estimates his moving costs - including storage costs, new furniture, appliances, renovations, decorating, landscaping and repairs to his “new” home - are “well over” $30,000.

That may sound excessive, but it’s not, according to an industry study released Tuesday.

Each home sale on average generates a whopping $32,000 in additional consumer spending, the Canadian Real Estate Association says.

The findings, which may come as an eye-opener to many first-time homebuyers, highlights the importance of the housing industry in general, and the residential real estate sector in particular, to the overall economy.

The report also helps in understanding the concerns about the overall impact of the downturn in the U.S. housing market on that economy and, in turn, on Canada’s.

“Resale housing transactions across Canada generate significant economic activity,” says the report, which also notes that this activity generates employment in a variety of industries.

Home resales in Canada annually generated more than 158,000 jobs and an average of $15.3-billion in additional spending over the three-year period 2004 to 2006, it says. The increase in spending each time a home was purchased varied from region to region, ranging from a high of $40,450 in British Columbia to a low of $20,325 in Atlantic Canada.

The purchase and sale of homes generates fees to professionals - such as lawyers, appraisers, real estate agents and surveyors - as well as taxes and fees to government, and spending on renovations, and furniture and appliances, the report says.

“When Canadians move, they typically buy new appliances or furnishings, and renovate in various ways to tailor their home to their specific requirements,” says association president Ann Bosley.

And that spending has broad economic impacts, a major one being job creation, adds association chief economist Gregory Klump.

“The study shows more than 94,000 jobs are created in Canada each year as a direct result of resale housing transactions,” he says.

Nearly 40% of those jobs were in the finance, insurance and real estate sector, the report notes.

But jobs are also created indirectly and in a variety of industries, it says. Of the 158,555 average annual total direct and indirect jobs created in the 2004-06 period, 29% were in finance, insurance and real estate, 17% in professional services, including government, 16% in retail and wholesale trade, 14% in construction, 7% in manufacturing, and 16% in other industries.

Roughly one in every 100 jobs created in Canada over the three years was due directly or indirectly to home sales, the report says, noting the job creation impact of home sales varies by region, just as spending does.

The greatest impact is in British Columbia, where nearly one in 55 jobs created in the province over the three years was the result of home sales. The smallest impact was in Atlantic Canada, where homesales accounted for one in every 205 jobs.

The economic impact of housing has also increased over the 15 years, says the report, which is the fourth conducted for the association since 1991 by Altus Clayton and Clayton Research Associates of Toronto.

The level of moving related spending and the total number of jobs created has increased sharply over the past 15 years, it notes.

Spending per transaction has increased 30%, with the greatest increases being in expenditures on moving costs, up 131%, then renovations, up 68%, taxes 47%, professional services 18%, and furniture and appliances 15%. The only decrease in spending has been on general household purchases, which have declined 8% since 1991.

The annual level of job creation has tripled since the first study was conducted in the early 1990s, which followed the bursting of the late 1980s real estate boom.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960