Curb appeal improvements cost
The changes that most affect what a house looks like from the street cost between $50 and $4,000, and the ones at the bottom of that range do more than the ones at the top.
National average
$2,000
per project
On this page
- What things cost
- The order to do them in
- What buyers deduct for
- The plants nobody tells you about
- Frequently asked questions
- What is the single best thing to spend $1,000 on?
- Does curb appeal actually affect the sale price?
- Should I repaint before selling?
- Is landscaping a good investment?
- What about at night?
The changes that most affect what a house looks like from the street cost between $50 and $4,000, and the ones at the bottom of that range do more than the ones at the top. Painting a front door is $200 and it is noticed. Replacing the windows is $12,000 and it usually is not.
This page ranks exterior improvements by what they change per dollar, which is a different ordering from what they cost.
What things cost
| Improvement | Typical cost | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Painting the front door | $50 to $300 | A great deal |
| New house numbers | $30 to $150 | More than expected |
| New door hardware and lock | $80 to $400 | Noticed on approach |
| Exterior light fixtures, per pair | $150 to $600 | A great deal |
| Pressure washing the house | $200 to $900 | A great deal |
| Cleaning and repairing gutters | $150 to $500 | Removes an objection |
| Fresh mulch and edging | $200 to $800 | A great deal |
| Trimming overgrown shrubs | $200 to $900 | A great deal |
| New mailbox and post | $100 to $500 | Small but visible |
| Painting or replacing shutters | $300 to $2,000 | Moderate |
| New garage door | $1,000 to $3,000 | The most, on many houses |
| Replacing the front door | $800 to $3,500 | Considerable |
| Repainting trim only | $1,500 to $4,000 | Considerable |
| Repainting the whole house | $4,000 to $12,000 | The most, on a tired house |
| New walkway or path | $1,500 to $6,000 | Moderate |
| Landscape lighting | $1,500 to $5,000 | Considerable at night |
| Planting mature shrubs | $800 to $4,000 | Moderate, improves yearly |
| New driveway | $4,000 to $15,000 | Less than it costs |
| New windows | $8,000 to $25,000 | Very little, from the street |
The order to do them in
Under $500, do all of these first. Wash the house, cut the shrubs back off the walls and windows, fresh mulch, paint the front door, new house numbers, new door hardware, and clean the gutters. That list is $700 to $2,500 total, takes two weekends, and changes the first impression of the house more than anything below it.
Then the garage door, if it faces the street and looks tired. On a house with a front-facing double garage, that door is up to a third of what anyone sees. It is $1,000 to $3,000 and it is consistently near the top of every return-on-investment survey published.
Then paint, if the house needs it. Nothing else on this list can rescue a house with failing paint, and nothing else changes it as completely when it is done.
Then lighting. Two decent fixtures beside the garage and one at the door, plus path lighting, changes the house entirely between dusk and bedtime, which is when most people drive past.
Last, the hard landscaping and the driveway. These cost the most and move the needle least, which is exactly the opposite of how people usually sequence them.
What buyers deduct for
Different question from what they admire, and it matters more.
- Failing paint or visibly rotten trim. Reads as deferred maintenance and buyers deduct more than the repair costs.
- A stained or streaked roof. Often just algae, and a soft wash at $400 to $1,200 removes the objection entirely.
- Overgrown planting against the house. Reads as neglect and hides the house.
- A cracked or heaving path, which reads as a trip hazard.
- Gutters sagging or full. One of the first things an inspector photographs.
- A dated or damaged garage door.
Removing a deduction is usually cheaper than adding an attraction.
The plants nobody tells you about
The most expensive landscaping mistake is planting something that grows into the house. Foundation shrubs planted at 2 feet reach 8 to 12 feet in a decade, block the windows, hold moisture against the siding, and cost $200 to $900 to remove.
Two rules that avoid nearly all of it: check the mature size rather than the pot size, and plant nothing closer to the wall than half its mature width. A row of correctly chosen shrubs that never needs cutting back is worth more than an expensive one that needs annual work.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single best thing to spend $1,000 on?
Wash the house, cut the shrubs back, fresh mulch, paint the front door, new numbers and new door hardware. All of it, for about $1,000, and it will look like a different house.
Does curb appeal actually affect the sale price?
It affects how quickly a house sells and how many people view it, more reliably than it affects the appraised value. Since time on market drives price concessions, the effect on what you end up with is real.
Should I repaint before selling?
If the paint is failing, yes. If it is merely a colour you dislike, usually not. Buyers deduct for failing paint and are largely indifferent to a neutral colour they would not have chosen.
Is landscaping a good investment?
Basic tidiness returns very well: mulch, edging, trimming and removing dead material. Elaborate landscaping returns poorly, because it reads as maintenance to a buyer rather than as value.
What about at night?
Underrated. Most people first see a house they are considering by driving past in the evening. Three good exterior fixtures and a few path lights for $1,500 change that entirely, and they cost a fraction of anything visible in daylight.
Read next
Pressure washing cost$0.15 to $0.75per sq ftPressure washing a house costs $0.15 to $0.75 a square foot, putting a 2,000 square foot house at $300 to $900. The distinction that matters is between pressure washing and soft washing.
Entry door replacement cost$400 to $3,500per eachReplacing a front door costs $400 to $3,500 installed depending on material. The labour is the same either way, so most of the spread is the door itself.
Garage door replacement cost$800 to $4,500per eachReplacing a garage door costs $800 to $4,500 installed, typically $1,800 for a double. It is consistently near the top of every return-on-investment survey, which is unusual for something this cheap.
Exterior house painting cost$200 to $500per sq ftPainting a house exterior costs $2.00 to $5.00 per square foot of wall. A two-storey house costs up to 50% more per foot, and the reason is staging rather than paint.
Exterior shutters cost$80 to $600per eachExterior shutters cost $80 to $600 a pair installed. Almost every shutter sold in America is decorative, and the most common mistake is fitting them at a size that makes it obvious.