Curb appeal matters — to buyers, to neighbours, and to your own enjoyment of your home. In competitive Ontario real estate markets, the exterior presentation of a home significantly influences perceived value and buyer interest. But not all exterior improvements are equal. Some deliver outstanding returns; others are expensive and barely noticed. Here are the 10 upgrades with the best combination of impact, cost-effectiveness, and lasting value.
Curb Appeal and Home Value: The Research
Multiple real estate studies have quantified the relationship between curb appeal and home sale price. Research consistently shows that homes with strong curb appeal sell for 5-10% more than comparable homes with poor exterior presentation. On a $700,000 home — close to the average in the KW region — that's $35,000 to $70,000 in additional value potential.
The mechanism is straightforward: buyers form their first impression of a home within the first 7 seconds of arrival. That impression — positive or negative — colours everything that follows. A home with a grimy driveway, stained siding, dirty windows, and unkept landscaping communicates "deferred maintenance," which translates directly to buyer uncertainty and lower offers. A home with a clean, well-presented exterior communicates pride of ownership and confidence in the property's condition.
This matters even if you're not selling. The value of your home is relevant to refinancing, home equity borrowing, and insurance replacement value. And the enjoyment you get from your home is directly affected by how it looks and how it makes you feel every time you pull into the driveway.
1 and 2: Clean Before You Do Anything Else
The two highest-ROI curb appeal improvements are not upgrades at all — they're cleaning services. Before spending money on new plants, new light fixtures, or a new front door, invest in professional exterior cleaning. Here's why:
1. Professional house washing (soft wash or pressure wash): A house that is clean looks dramatically better than the same house with the same age, same colour, and same landscaping covered in algae streaks, mildew, and road grime. Soft washing a stained vinyl-sided home can make it look almost new. Pressure washing a dingy brick home reveals the rich, deep colour that's been obscured by years of surface deposits. Cost: $300-650 for a typical two-storey home. ROI: Exceptional — transformative visual improvement at a fraction of what any physical upgrade would cost.
2. Window cleaning: Dirty windows are noticed more than people realize — particularly in listing photos, which are the most important real estate marketing tool in modern home sales. Clean windows sparkle in sunlight. Dirty windows look grey and neglected. For listing preparation specifically, professional window cleaning is one of the most impactful per-dollar improvements you can make. Cost: $200-450 for interior and exterior. ROI: The improvement in listing photos alone justifies the cost for homes being prepared for sale.
Our full exterior cleaning package — soft wash, window cleaning, and driveway pressure washing — is our most popular pre-listing service. Contact us to learn about our pre-listing exterior cleaning package.
Pro Tip: Always clean before making any other aesthetic improvements. Paint a door on a dirty house and the door looks out of place. Paint a door on a freshly cleaned house and it completes the picture. Cleaning multiplies the impact of every subsequent improvement.
3: Front Door — Maximum Impact for Minimum Cost
The front door is the focal point of every home's exterior. It's what every visitor looks at as they approach, what every buyer photographs, and what establishes the character of the home's façade. Yet many Ontario homes have front doors that haven't seen fresh paint in a decade — faded, chalky, and devoid of any personality.
A fresh coat of quality exterior paint on the front door is one of the highest-ROI home improvements available. A litre of premium exterior paint costs $25-40. With preparation and a couple of hours, the impact is enormous. Bold colours — deep navy, black, forest green, burgundy, or brick red — typically have more impact than neutral colours on a front door, though this depends on the home's overall colour palette.
Beyond paint, consider the hardware. Replacing a tarnished brass handle and deadbolt set with a new brushed nickel or matte black set costs $80-200 and immediately elevates the door's appearance. Replace any house numbers that are hard to read, and ensure the entry light fixture is clean, functional, and complements the door style.
4 and 5: Driveway and Walkways — The First Impression
Before a buyer or visitor even looks at your house, they're walking across your driveway. A clean, sealed, well-edged driveway signals that the homeowner takes care of their property. A cracked, stained, weedy driveway does the opposite.
4. Driveway sealing: A freshly sealed asphalt driveway is deep black, glossy, and visually striking. It looks new, which communicates well-maintained. The sealed surface resists stains and tire marks better than unsealed asphalt, and the visual contrast against the green lawn and coloured garden beds frames the approach to the house attractively. Cost: $220-380 for a standard double driveway. Learn more about our professional driveway sealing service.
5. Walkway pressure washing and edging: Concrete walkways accumulate algae, moss, and staining that makes them look grey and old regardless of their actual age. Pressure washing reveals the original concrete colour. Freshly cut edges along the walkway — separating it cleanly from the lawn — add a crisp, manicured look that signals attention to detail.
6: Landscaping Quick Wins
Full landscape redesign is expensive and time-consuming. But targeted landscaping improvements — specific, affordable changes that disproportionately improve the visual impression — can be done in a weekend.
The single most impactful landscaping quick win is fresh mulch in all garden beds. Dark-coloured hardwood mulch (at 3-4 inch depth) provides a clean, rich contrast to plants and defines bed edges visually. Fresh mulch makes a bed look intentional and well-maintained regardless of what's planted in it. Cost: $200-600 for a typical front yard, including delivery and installation.
Additional quick wins: edge all garden beds with a straight-edge spade or edging tool for clean definition; pull all visible weeds (this sounds obvious but is one of the most noticed details); cut back any shrubs or plants that are touching the house; and remove any dead or dying plants immediately.
Planting strategy for maximum impact: concentrate plantings near the front door and along the walkway — these are the areas buyers focus on. Large, established foundation plantings that have grown to obscure windows and siding should be pruned or removed if they're making the home look smaller or more dated.
7: Lighting Upgrades
Exterior lighting affects how a home looks both at night and in listing photos taken in the evening. Many KW homes still have builder-grade outdoor fixtures that have oxidized and faded to a muddy bronze colour over 15-20 years. Replacing these with modern fixtures is one of the most cost-effective cosmetic upgrades available.
Modern exterior lighting fixtures in matte black or dark bronze coordinate well with most home colours and styles, and are available at hardware stores for $40-120 per fixture. A coordinated set — matching porch light, garage lights, and path lights — creates a unified, intentional look that's much more impactful than mismatched fixtures of different ages and finishes.
Solar path lights along the driveway or front walkway add both beauty and function at minimal cost. Modern solar lights charge reliably during Ontario summer days and have improved dramatically in output and appearance from earlier generations.
8 and 9: Windows and Trim
8. Window trim paint: On homes with painted window and door trim (very common in KW's older neighbourhoods), fresh white or off-white trim paint is one of the most visually impactful improvements available. Trim defines the windows, creates contrast against the wall surface, and gives the facade visual structure. Trim that is peeling, yellowed, or dirty undermines the appearance of every other improvement made to the home.
9. Address numbers and mailbox: The items visitors look for most directly — your house number — are often the most neglected. Replacing small, faded, or hard-to-read house numbers with large, bold modern numbers (75-100mm or larger) mounted on a contrasting background dramatically improves the home's visual communication. A coordinated mailbox that matches the number style and the front door hardware completes the entry experience. Total cost: $40-150. Impact: Disproportionate.
10: Address Visible Damage Before Any Upgrade
The most expensive curb appeal mistake is making cosmetic improvements while visible damage exists. A fresh coat of paint on a house with sagging gutters looks like lipstick on a broken face. A beautifully sealed driveway leading to a home with crumbling soffit panels sends mixed signals that buyers notice immediately.
Before any cosmetic improvement, do a damage inventory:
- Gutters that are sagging, separated, or pulling away from the fascia
- Fascia or soffit panels that are damaged, stained, or missing
- Missing or damaged shingles visible from the street
- Visible rot on window frames, door frames, or trim
- Foundation cracks visible above grade
- Significant driveway cracking or heaving
Address these items first. They communicate structural concerns and maintenance neglect in a way that no cosmetic improvement can overcome. A well-maintained home that is clean and free of visible defects — even without expensive upgrades — shows better than a visually upgraded home with obvious damage.
| Upgrade | Estimated Cost | Visual Impact | ROI Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| House soft wash | $300–$650 | Transformative | Excellent |
| Window cleaning | $200–$450 | High | Excellent |
| Front door paint + hardware | $80–$250 | High | Outstanding |
| Driveway sealing | $220–$380 | High | Excellent |
| Walkway pressure wash + edging | $150–$250 | Medium-high | Very good |
| Fresh mulch in garden beds | $200–$600 | Medium-high | Very good |
| Exterior lighting replacement | $150–$400 | Medium | Good |
| Window trim paint | $200–$500 | High | Very good |
| Address numbers + mailbox | $50–$150 | Low-medium | Outstanding |
| Visible damage repair (priority) | Varies | Prerequisite | Non-negotiable |
Curb Appeal Improvements — Key Takeaways
- ✓ Clean first, upgrade second: Professional washing multiplies the impact of every subsequent improvement at lower cost than any physical upgrade.
- ✓ Fix visible damage before cosmetic improvements: No cosmetic upgrade overcomes the negative impression left by visible structural problems.
- ✓ Front door impact is disproportionate to cost: A $50 paint job and $100 hardware replacement on the front door delivers impact that rivals improvements costing 10x as much.
- ✓ Fresh mulch is the landscaping shortcut: Clean, dark mulch in defined beds makes any landscape look intentional and well-maintained.
- ✓ Address numbers matter more than people think: It's what every visitor looks for — make it visible, modern, and coordinated.
