Real Estate Rescue. Tracy McLaughlin

hardscape for outdoor dining and entertaining? Is the hardscape in alignment with what today’s buyers want? Is there a pool or spa? Is the landscape design sophisticated? Does the property have mature vegetation? Is the home well placed on the lot? Does the site placement maximize the backyard? Which way is the home oriented, and does it get direct sun? Is the backyard private and quiet? Is there a sport court?

      Curb Appeal: An Inheritance from Our Tribal Ancestors

      Curb appeal matters: houses that present well from the curb get higher valuations.

      Humans are hardwired to react quickly to environmental cues—and it’s difficult to change our impressions once formed. We make quick assessments in the first few seconds of our experience of someone or something. Research shows that our unconscious mind perceives in a few seconds what it takes our rational conscious mind much longer to evaluate and digest.15

      Our snap judgments are an inheritance from our tribal ancestors who had to quickly determine if that rustling sound in the bush was a snapping twig or a saber-toothed tiger. Survival was dependent on the ability to make quick discernments. The proverbial tiger is gone and the brain has evolved, but the ancient part of the brain carries those caveman instincts into the modern world.

      Although we are taught not to judge a book by its cover, we often do. And this certainly holds true in real estate.

      Buyers’ first impressions of homes are formed when they approach the curb or, more likely in the digital era, when they click on photos of a home online. According to a study by the Bank of Montreal16, 80 percent of home buyers know if a house is right as soon as they walk in the door.

      Dr. Michael Seiler, a professor of Real Estate and Finance at the College of William & Mary, led the first study using ocular tracking technology to record the exact eye scanning pattern employed by home buyers when searching the web for homes for sale.17 He and his team created a typical home listing website, broken down into three sections. Overwhelmingly, participants (95.1 percent) first looked at the “curb appeal” photo—an enlarged photo that shows the exterior of the home. Then 76 percent of the viewers turned to the quantitative property description section, where details like the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage are displayed. Finally, the participants’ eyes went to the real estate agent’s remarks section, but 41.5 percent didn’t even bother looking there at all. “Without an eye-catching photo, the battle is lost before it begins,” Professor Seiler says. “You have to grab people’s attention within two seconds. Do it the way a billboard does.”

      Curb appeal makes a statement about a house that hopefully lodges in the memory of the buyer. It’s not about a grand façade or a rolling lawn. It’s the details that thread together to leave a lasting impression. The right color paint for the exterior. A front door that grabs people’s attention. Elegant door hardware, the first thing a buyer touches. Light fixtures that not only blaze a trail to your front door, but do it with style. Life and color with plants that frame the entryway and the walk up.

      Vegetation that directs a buyer’s attention to the best features of the façade. The hedge that screens off the Winnebago parked in the adjacent driveway. The fencing that defines the space and creates the impression of privacy. The wide-planked horizontal siding that masks the less attractive stucco.

Checklist—Curb Appeal Is the hardscape to the front door a material currently in demand? Is the landscape verdant and layered? Does the home have the right color palette? Does it resonate with today’s younger buyers? Is the front door solid and its hardware appealing? Does the doorway have a symmetrical composition of light fixtures and front door accents? Does the vegetation accent the home’s appeal? Does the outside of the house look fresh, or weathered and peeling? Does the fence or gate define the property but not look foreboding? Is the driveway in good shape, or in disrepair? Does the garage door accentuate the home’s appearance? Is there low-voltage landscape lighting to illuminate and frame the path? Does the mailbox complement the home?

      Environmental Factors

      Environmental factors don’t show up in the MLS, but can dramatically impact the value of a home. A nearby cell tower, airport noise, overhead power lines, heavy traffic, or an interstate freeway that billows pollution are factors outside the boundaries of a property, and outside an owner’s control, but they can play a role in devaluing a home. Rising water due to global warming is a concern for buyers in low-lying coastal areas. Negative environmental factors lower the valuation of a home.

      Homeowners can mitigate some issues before the home is valued. The owner of a home with road noise could install a retaining wall with vegetation, or mount outdoor speakers and play music when the house is shown. If a house faces north and doesn’t get direct sunlight, the seller can add LED lights and change the bulbs to brighten the inside. White crisp walls brighten a home if the natural lighting is not optimal.

Checklist—Environmental Factors Is there ambient road noise? What is the microclimate in the area? What is the quality of the light? What is the orientation of the house? Does it face west or south? Does it get direct sunlight? Are there nearby cell towers? Are there overhead power lines? Does the home have privacy? Is it located near a drug shelter or a homeless shelter? Is there airport traffic? Is the home under a flight path? Are there issues with air or water quality? Are there soil issues that would impact the cost and feasibility of use and future development?

      Location

      The two largest generations in America’s history are dramatically shaping not just how, but where, people want to live. The baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964 and numbering approximately seventy-seven million) and their millennial offspring (born from 1977 to 1996 and estimated around seventy-eight million) are waving goodbye to the car-centric McMansion era of oversized, ill-proportioned homes in favor of a more community-oriented lifestyle. As the boomers near retirement age, there’s a trend to downsize and move into one-level homes in walkable, transit-friendly neighborhoods near suburban centers or mixed-use zones. Millennials tend to value efficiency and technology, and gravitate toward areas offering a mix of homes, stores, and other businesses within a short walk. In a National Association of Realtors research survey18, the number of people who preferred a mixed-use suburban neighborhood was more than double the number who preferred a suburban neighborhood with houses only.

      As suburban congestion increases, people place a greater premium on homes that have close proximity to freeways or public transport. In the San Francisco Bay Area, for example, commuters with a thirty-minute trip from