What is Curb Appeal?
2026
For years, buyers have formed their first impressions of homes while standing in the street or sitting inside the car, just beyond the curb. Before text messaging and smartphones, a buyer would get a phone call or fax from their agent about a new listing. The initial drive-by would determine whether or not they would go for an actual showing.
Which is why “curb appeal”—making your home look as inviting as possible from the outside—has been so important and still is. If a home doesn’t look compelling from the curb, potential buyers may not bother to venture inside.
Here’s what you need to know about curb appeal in the Internet age.
Why curb appeal still matters
Nearly every buyer today forms their first impression from a home’s online photos. Instead of driving to your home, they’ll scroll through pictures of the outside and the inside before ever stepping foot inside. What’s more, they may never come to see your home if they don’t like what they see online.
While the exterior of your home should be high on your priority list, it’s most valuable only when the buyer walks up or drives by. But they may not ever get that far.
The interior also needs to show your home in its best possible light, because Web appeal has become the new curb appeal. And if your home doesn’t photograph well—either because you didn’t have it professionally shot, didn’t post high-resolution photos, or you haven’t taken the time to prep it—then curb appeal won’t even make a difference.
What you should do about curb appeal
Sellers need to spend plenty of time preparing the inside of their home and getting great photos, so buyers will form the best possible impression.
The downside is that you have to work so much harder than you would have just 15 years ago. In our ever-more-visual society, buyers make immediate judgments about a home within moments of clicking on the new listing on their smartphone.
Sellers only have one chance to make a good impression. The home still needs to look good from the curb—but to get the buyers inside, it also needs to look great online.
