Seconds From Curb Appeal And Home Sales

Feb. 9, 2011 - PRLog -- A homebuyer usually spends about 10 seconds determining the curb appeal of a home.  A garage door is a major factor in measuring those critical seconds that sell a home.

“Perception is reality.  The first ten seconds are critical,” Luanne Clark, a realtor with ERA The Home Connection of Pocatello, Idaho, says of a buyer’s approach to a home.  Clark said curb appeal means everything, about whether a prospect sees value in a home.

She said there are two key factors that heavily play into that curb appeal of a home: the garage door and the front door.

“What you see is very, very important” Clark said of curb appeal.

That perception translates into dollars and cents very readily, as well, a recent study shows.  Of the 300 realtors surveyed in the study, 75 percent believed a new garage door increased the selling price of the home.

The survey done by Stratamark Research found that realtors estimated a home’s value increased anywhere from one to four percent, depending on the home’s curb appeal.  The study suggested an increase in value on a $350,000 home between $3,500 and $14,000 because of the garage door.  

The study also said most realtors recommend that a homeowner replace their garage door when listing their home for sale, because the condition of the door plays so heavily in its curb appeal.  A garage door in poor condition detracted significantly from a home’s curb appeal, realtors in the study said.

Realtors who have been exposed to Martin Garage Doors also know that a Martin Door adds value to a potential sale, when they added it into the home-promotion formula.

“Martin Doors are known as a premier company in the industry,” Clark said.

She noted that while a garage door says a lot about the curb appeal of a home, that a prospective homeowner is also concerned about security, efficiency, long life, and design when it comes to a garage door.

There are over 30 safety and long life upgrades that are part of each Martin Door, leading to the company’s claim of making “the world’s finest and safety garage door.”

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Martin Door Manufacturing has been in business since 1936. Located in Salt Lake City, the company builds doors for distribution to 93 different countries.