With the real estate market fluctuating, there comes a period every couple of years where there are more sellers than buyers and hence the people looking for a home can be choosy. They know that sellers desperately want to move on to their next home and will do anything reasonable to close a deal.

With so many homes on the market, many sellers resort to home improvement tips and tricks to make their house stand out from among the competition. However, the key lies in knowing which home improvement tips can increase the value of your home and which won’t make much of a difference. Here are some of the most popular home improvement areas that can help sell your home faster and for a better price

Paint

The cheapest home improvement aspect can also give the best payoff. You can save even more money by doing the job yourself. A fresh coat of white or taupe can really improve the homes appearance. It looks cleaner, looks bigger and looks like the people who live here care for their property. However, one word of caution here is to stick to neutral tones if you want to sell your home. Home improvement shows boast of the latest faux paint techniques and the hottest colors for the season. However, the green you like for your master bedroom may not appeal to prospective homeowners. If you do have hot pink bedroom walls for your daughter, tone them down or make them neutral as well. This is because new owners may not have a daughter who will use that room and they may want to move in to something that requires minimum effort.

Window Treatments

Again, if you can make window treatments yourself you can save some money. But even if you cannot, new curtains and blinds are home improvement aspects that really spruce the place up. Again, stick to prints and patterns that people of all ages would like so that you appeal to more buyers. Better still, opt for solids rather than floral or abstracts as they are a safer bet.

De-clutter

Perhaps the biggest payoff as far as home improvement tips are concerned is to make your home look bigger and less messy. You may have accumulated a lot of stuff (and junk) over the years. Ideally, go through the entire home and toss, donate or store anything you do not need immediately. This will free up walking space, wall space, counter space and the like and prospective owners will feel they are getting more footage for their dollar. If there are pieces you can not part with, hold them in a separate storage area not your garage or basement. Then if you still feel they are important, bring them back in your new home.