You can renovate a kitchen, update every bathroom, and install the most sophisticated smart home system money can buy and none of it will matter if the exterior of your building drives buyers away before they ever walk through the door. Curb appeal isn’t a real estate cliché. It’s a documented, measurable driver of property value, buyer behavior, and sale price. For NYC condo and co-op boards, individual homeowners, and rental property investors alike, this is one of the most cost-effective levers you can pull to protect and grow what your property is worth.
Why First Impressions Drive Real Dollars
The data on buyer behavior is striking. A January 2025 survey of nearly 1,000 American homeowners found that 68% of buyers consider poor curb appeal a dealbreaker, meaning they won’t even request a showing if the exterior doesn’t meet their expectations. And on the positive side, buyers in 2025 are willing to increase their offers by an average of $9,195 for a home with great curb appeal.
That’s not a marginal difference. On a $500,000 property, a 7% premium is $35,000. On a $1 million NYC condo, it’s $70,000. The exterior of a building its cleanliness, landscaping, lighting, entryways, and condition, signals to buyers and tenants whether a property is well-managed and worth their investment. As CooperatorNews, the publication focused on NYC co-op and condo communities, put it plainly: “You’re only as good as your first impression.”
And with 94% of property searches now happening online before a single in-person showing, the curb appeal of your building also determines how it photographs and competes in listing searches. A weathered awning or overgrown entrance doesn’t just look bad in person, it eliminates buyers before they ever contact an agent.
For homeowner associations and condos, a buyer’s first impression starts when they first enter your community. A poorly maintained roadway, or condo exterior, can mean a poorly managed community and increased costs down the road. Conversely, a well maintained building and roadway usually shows strong management, a properly funded community, and a welcoming place to be.
The Highest-ROI Curb Appeal Projects
Not all exterior improvements deliver the same return. The 2024 Cost vs. Value Report, the real estate industry’s annual benchmark for project ROI, is unambiguous: nine of the top ten highest-return home improvements are exterior projects. Here are the ones that consistently deliver the best financial outcomes.
Entry Door Replacement
The front door is the handshake of your building. According to the 2024 Cost vs. Value Report, replacing an existing entry door with a steel door delivers an average ROI of 188% nationally, meaning property owners recoup nearly double what they spend. A new door signals security, energy efficiency, and visual appeal all at once. If a full replacement isn’t feasible, a fresh coat of paint in a bold, coordinated color and updated hardware, locksets, knockers, house numbers, achieves much of the same effect for a fraction of the cost.
Landscaping and Lawn Maintenance
A 2023 joint study by the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) found that standard lawn care, mowing, trimming, and applying mulch annually, delivers a ROI of 217%. That’s the highest return of any home improvement project in the study. For NYC buildings with courtyard gardens, planted entrances, or street-level greenery, professional maintenance of those spaces isn’t a luxury expense. It’s one of the smartest line items in any building’s operating budget.
NAR also found that landscape lighting delivers a 59% ROI and irrigation systems return 83% of their cost, both practical upgrades for properties with maintained outdoor areas.
Exterior Cleaning and Power Washing
This is the most underrated improvement on the list. A thorough cleaning of a building’s facade, walkways, and entrance, including professional window washing, can increase a listing’s perceived value by an average of $10,000, according to real estate professionals. Dirt, grime, graffiti, and weathered surfaces are among the most common first-impression dealbreakers. In NYC, where buildings are subject to pollution, street-level exposure, and foot traffic year-round, regular power washing and facade cleaning is maintenance, not optional upkeep.
Exterior Lighting
Updated lighting transforms a building after dark. Modern, well-positioned exterior fixtures improve both safety and aesthetics, two things that matter deeply to NYC buyers and tenants. Well-lit entrances and walkways reduce the perception of risk and increase the sense of care and investment in a building’s maintenance. This is a relatively low-cost upgrade with compounding benefits: better lighting photographs well, improves resident satisfaction, and reduces liability.
What This Means for NYC Buildings Specifically
For co-op and condo boards in New York City, curb appeal operates at the building level, not just the individual unit. The condition of a building’s lobby entrance, facade, planted areas, signage, canopy or awning, and common-area walkways affects the resale and rental value of every unit in the building, not just the ones directly adjacent.
The practical implication: curb appeal is a shared financial interest. When a board invests in professional landscaping, facade cleaning, updated exterior lighting, or a refreshed entrance, every shareholder and unit owner benefits directly through stronger resale values and faster sales when they do choose to sell.
Common areas that are visually tired, peeling paint on entrance trim, faded awnings, cracked walkways, unmaintained planters, send a signal to prospective buyers during showings, to appraisers during valuations, and to tenants during lease renewals. The message those details send is that the building isn’t actively managed.
The inverse is equally true. Buildings that maintain a crisp, well-kept exterior communicate exactly the opposite: that the board is attentive, the management is professional, and the investment is protected.
Low-Cost Curb Appeal Wins Any Building Can Execute This Season
Major capital projects require board votes, reserve funds, and contractor coordination. But some of the most impactful curb appeal improvements cost very little and can be executed quickly:
- Refresh plantings at the building entrance with seasonal flowers or low-maintenance shrubs
- Power wash the sidewalk, steps, and facade, a single professional cleaning makes an outsized visual difference
- Update exterior hardware, mailbox surrounds, intercom panels, door handles, and house numbers
- Repair and repaint entrance trim, railings, and any areas showing wear or peeling
- Improve lighting at the entrance and along walkways with updated, appropriately scaled fixtures
- Remove clutter from the building’s streetscape, overgrown planters, damaged signage, and surplus street furniture all diminish perceived quality
None of these require a capital campaign. Most can be incorporated into regular maintenance budgets. What they require is intentionality, and a management team that’s paying attention.
Curb Appeal as Year-Round Property Management
The best property managers don’t treat curb appeal as a pre-sale checklist item. They treat it as ongoing maintenance, the same way they treat roof inspections, boiler servicing, or plumbing repairs.
A building that looks well-maintained in every season signals to residents, buyers, and lenders that the board takes its fiduciary responsibility seriously. It reduces vacancy, supports resale prices, and protects property values across the community, not just for the units on the market right now.
At DOME, this is exactly how we approach building management: with consistent attention to the details that protect and grow what your community is worth.
JUST DEWITT. DOME Property Management has been providing professional property management services to NYC and beyond since 1987. For more information about DOME Property Management and their AI Chatbot Ask The Dewitts, visit DOMEgroup.com or drop us an email at properties@DOMEproperty.com