Real Estate Information and Market Trends| Real Estate Victoria BC

Get out the lawnmower and the trimmer, it looks like it’s the curb appeal that catches the eye of BC Home Buyers, and it matters more than price, lot size and square footage of the home when people are looking for properties in Victoria

According to the study from Home Depot Canada British Columbians are on tops when it comes to landscaping, with 50% saying the yard catches their eye before anything else with the property as compared to the national average of 46%. I say that is not surprising here in Victoria, the land of flowers and early springs. The curb appeal contributes more to first impressions than windows or exterior paint which only drew 19 and 11 % respectively. A little more than 1 in 4 British Columbians paid attention to the houses flooring, trailing the national average at 33%.

When comparing rooms in the house the kitchen is still on top as the most important room in the house at 60% when compared to other rooms. As the saying goes you only get one first impression so make sure it counts when putting your property up for sale. When working with Buyers we, at Properties in Victoria Professionals, encourage all our clients to do a drive by before going inside. If the outside is in shambles it will take a miracle inside for the potential buyer to see past the outside. “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 house staging tips from Properties in Victoria Professionals on how to increase your home’s inside and outside appeal. - Weed the garden, plant some flowers, cut the grass and add some flowering plants near the front door. Remember not to over do it. Clean the windows inside and out, paint the door trim and window trim. If the house could use a coat of paint don’t be shy.- Buff up the hardwood if you have it. Replace any broken pieces and if you have carpet over the hardwood considered removing it and showing it off.- Paint the interior if needed (neutral colours work best) or at least wash the walls and do some touch ups. - If you are going to do some renovations consider doing the kitchen and bathrooms first as they receive most of the investment back. If you budget cannot afford a full makeover consider, painting the cupboard doors and new replacing the handles. We, at Properties in Victoria Professionals would be happy to give you a Market Evaluation of your home. You can visit our website or drop us a line at 250-920-7000250-920-7000. If you are outside of the Greater Victoria area we would be happy to help you find a Realtor® to help you with this process. Leger Marketing surveyed 1500 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.