The power of the right front door..
Does the state and colour of your front door affect your home’s value? Yes, and no.
You will have heard the phrase ‘kerb appeal’. In essence, it’s the immediate impression your home gives when potential buyers pull up outside, ready to discover if your current home could be their next home. In this respect yes, a scruffy, grubby, in-need-of-some-TLC front door will affect the value of your home, in as much as the viewer will immediately form an impression of lack of care, which may extend inside the home, too.
One thing you really don’t want is viewers turning up and immediately deciding your home needs some attention, and looking for problems from the moment they enter. It takes six seconds to form an impression, it’s very much a subconscious process, so even if asked viewers may be hard pressed to say why they didn’t feel immediately positive about a home. So it’s best not to risk that first six seconds being anything but excellent.
In this respect, a clean and tidy entry, with a clean porch or step and a front door that’s not a home to multiple spiders’ webs, with no wonky door furniture and a bell or knocker that works is a very good way to start the big reveal of your home.
Does the colour of your front door affect the value of your home?
Again, this is a yes and no answer. Your estate agent will have carefully valued your home according to where it sits in the local marketplace, and will be keen to ensure you achieve the maximum selling value, so no, in terms of pounds and pence, the colour of your front door will not affect the value of your home. However – again, it may affect the value of that first impression. If the colour is off-putting, then getting people across the threshold to view the rest with a positive attitude might be a challenge.
So, what colour should you paint your front door to boost the value of your home?
In a study conducted by door and window retailer, Safestyle, they discovered that red has the most positive immediate impact. Pure London bus, pillarbox red. It’s a bold, confident, happy colour that suggests the occupants really care for and love their home. The rich splash of colour as seen from the kerb is immediately eye-catching and welcoming, just begging you to walk up and ring the bell.
Interestingly, there is a regional bias when it comes to colour choice for the front door. In Newcastle-upon-Tyne, sage green doors boosted interest and value. In Manchester, however, red was the colour that did the job. We have no comment on that, save to say that blue is also a popular colour…
The Safestyle study showed that grey, black, blue and white came in second, third, fourth and fifth place as far as hitting those first vital moments of kerb appeal value, so if red is a step too far, you can easily find a colour that works for you, and your kerb appeal. These are all practical, easy-on-the-eye colours that aren’t likely to draw the wrong kind of response.
It’s not vital that you re-paint your front door the moment you decide to sell your house, of course, Colour has an impact, of course, but more importantly it’s the overall look and feel you present as potential buyers arrive at your home. A regular wash down, brush the porch or steps and maybe add a couple of pots with pretty summer bedding plants and you will provide an immediate, attractive welcome to your home – and have no need to worry about those first six seconds.
Friday 31st May 2024 – Eddie (Image used from JP & Brimelow Estate Agents marketing team).
