Buyers form an impression before they get out of the car, and the listing photograph is doing the same job online. A green, weed-lined drive reads as 'neglected maintenance' whether or not the house behind it is immaculate.
We're not going to claim a number for what it adds — nobody can honestly measure that. What we can say is that it's low cost relative to almost every other presentation job and it changes the photograph.
What to clean before photography
- The driveway and its edges, including the weed line where the drive meets the wall.
- The front path and steps up to the door.
- The bin store area and any side return that appears in a photo.
- The rear patio, if it features in the garden shots.
- Decking, which photographs badly when green.
Timing it around the listing
Book the clean before the photographer, not after the listing goes live — re-shoots are a hassle and the first version of a listing gets the most attention.
If you're on the market through winter, an autumn clean carries you through the wet months in much better shape than cleaning in January would.
For landlords and agents
The same logic applies between tenancies. A cleaned frontage and rear patio photograph better, let faster and set a standard for how the property is expected to be kept.