Before a buyer ever touches a door handle, checks the kitchen benchtops, or peers into the master bedroom, they've already made a judgement. They made it from the car. They made it scrolling through realestate.com.au at 11pm on a Tuesday night. They made it in the three seconds it took to decide whether to click on your listing or keep scrolling.
That judgement? It came down to one thing: your front yard.
In real estate, this is called kerb appeal — and in Australia, it's worth a lot more than most homeowners realise.
Kerb Appeal: Why Your Front Yard Sets the Asking Price
Think about the journey a buyer takes with your property. The very first image on a real estate listing is almost always a front-on shot of the house. That photo is doing the heavy lifting before an open home is even scheduled. A lush green lawn, tidy garden beds, and a clean, inviting entrance say "this home is cared for." A patchy, weed-riddled front yard says the opposite — and buyers start mentally deducting dollars before they've even walked through the gate.
According to a national survey by Raine & Horne, 40 per cent of real estate agents believe a well-presented lawn can boost a home's value by 20 per cent. On a median-priced Australian property, that's a six-figure difference. A separate study by finder.com.au found that almost 90 per cent of Australians would offer below asking price if the exterior of a property was unappealing — with Queensland buyers dropping their offers by up to 25 per cent.
That's not a rounding error. That's tens of thousands of dollars, lost to an unmowed lawn and a few weeds.
From Listing Photo to SOLD Sign: Where First Impressions Are Made
Here's what makes kerb appeal so powerful: it's the constant. Your front yard is present at every stage of the buying journey.
The listing photo. Buyers scroll through hundreds of properties. The ones that stop their thumb are the ones with street presence — green lawns, defined edges, colour in the garden. Your front yard is your home's thumbnail image, and it needs to earn the click.
The drive-by. Serious buyers always do a drive-by before booking an inspection. They slow down, take a look from the street, and form an opinion in seconds. If the front yard doesn't match the promise of the listing, they keep driving.
The open home arrival. First impressions are visceral. The walk from the street to the front door sets the emotional tone for the entire inspection. A well-kept entrance path, a healthy lawn, and tidy hedges create a feeling of pride and care that carries through every room.
The family photo. And here's the moment most sellers forget — once the sale goes through and that SOLD sign comes down, what happens next? The new owners gather the family out the front for a photo. That front yard isn't just a selling tool. It becomes part of someone's story. The background of their first photo in their new home.
If you're a homeowner preparing to sell, your front lawn needs to be at its best for every one of these moments — from the first listing photo to the final handshake. If you're a landlord or property manager, the same logic applies: a well-presented front yard attracts better tenants, faster, and at stronger rental prices. Either way, you don't need months of work. A targeted lawn recovery program can have your front yard looking sharp within weeks — well before the photographer or the first open home.
How Much Value Does Kerb Appeal Add to Australian Properties?
The data on kerb appeal in Australia is compelling.
Research by Domain.com.au experts suggests that quality landscaping can increase a home's value by 15 to 20 per cent. A Turf Australia study found that a well-maintained lawn can add around 12 per cent to a Queensland property's value. With Brisbane's median house price now sitting above $1 million, that's potentially more than $120,000 in added value — from your lawn alone. The same research found that 95 per cent of house hunters want a real, quality lawn — and 63 per cent of family buyers rank a natural lawn as their number one preferred outdoor surface, ahead of decking, artificial turf, paving, and concrete.
A Brisbane City Council case study found that leafy, well-landscaped streets with 50 per cent canopy cover added up to 5.4 per cent to median house sale prices. And Perth-based research showed that even a single broad-leaved tree in the front yard could boost a property's median price by nearly $17,000.
The message is clear: your front yard isn't a cost. It's one of the best-returning investments in Australian property.
What Buyers Notice First About Your Front Yard
You don't need a landscape architect to make an impact. Buyers aren't expecting a botanical garden — they're looking for signs that a property is well maintained. The details that matter most are surprisingly simple.
A healthy, green lawn. Nothing signals "well-kept home" quite like a lush lawn. Conversely, nothing screams neglect louder than dead patches, bare soil, and weeds. If your lawn is struggling, a targeted recovery program with the right fertiliser, weed control, and wetting agents can transform it in as little as six to eight weeks.
Clean edges. Crisp edges along garden beds, paths, and driveways create a sense of order and polish that buyers notice immediately — even if they can't articulate why. It's the landscaping equivalent of a freshly ironed shirt.
Weed-free garden beds with fresh mulch. Weeds are visual clutter. A thick layer of mulch suppresses them, retains moisture, and gives garden beds that rich, finished look that photographs beautifully.
A clear, welcoming path to the front door. The journey from the street to your entrance should feel intentional. Clean pavers, a trimmed hedge line, and perhaps a pot or two framing the doorway make all the difference.
Colour and life. A few strategically placed flowering plants or feature pots near the entrance add warmth and personality. They tell buyers that someone has invested time and thought into this space.
How to Improve Your Kerb Appeal on a Weekend
If you're preparing a property for sale — or you simply want to be the pride of the street — here are the highest-impact, lowest-cost actions you can take.
Start with the lawn. Mow it, edge it, feed it. If it's looking tired, a quality lawn fertiliser combined with a soil wetter will bring back colour and health faster than you'd expect. If weeds have taken hold, a selective herbicide will clean things up without damaging your turf. If you don't know where to start, the EasyGreen Lawn Rescue Kit takes the guesswork out entirely — three professional-grade products (fertiliser, wetting agent, and seaweed extract) with a step-by-step application guide that tells you exactly what to do and when. Most lawns show visible colour improvement within two to three weeks, with full recovery in six to eight weeks — plenty of time to get your front yard photo-ready before listing day.
Mulch your garden beds. Fresh mulch is one of the cheapest and most visually impactful upgrades you can make. It instantly tidies up garden beds and makes existing plants look more established and deliberate.
Prune and shape. Overgrown hedges and unruly shrubs make a property look neglected. A good prune opens up sightlines to the house, lets in natural light, and creates clean, defined shapes.
Pressure wash hard surfaces. Driveways, paths, and fences accumulate years of grime. A pressure wash brings them back to life and makes the entire front yard feel fresher.
Add a feature or two. A pair of matching pots with clipped plants flanking the front door. A new house number. A painted letterbox. These small touches cost very little but signal pride of ownership.
Front Yard vs Kitchen Reno: Which Adds More Value?
Australian homeowners happily spend thousands updating kitchens and bathrooms before selling, but often overlook the one space that every buyer sees first. The irony is that front yard improvements typically cost a fraction of interior renovations while delivering comparable — and sometimes greater — returns.
A lawn recovery program, a bag of mulch, some quality fertiliser, and a weekend of effort can genuinely add thousands to your sale price. More importantly, it can be the difference between a buyer clicking on your listing or scrolling past it. Between a strong offer and a lowball. Between a property that sits on the market and one that sells on the first open home.
Your front yard is the cover of your home's story. Make it one that buyers want to read.
Selling or renting out your property? The EasyGreen Lawn Rescue Kit is designed for exactly this moment. Three professional-grade products — fertiliser, wetting agent, and seaweed extract — with a clear, step-by-step guide that tells you exactly what to apply and when. No guesswork, no wasted weekends at the hardware store trying to figure out what your lawn needs. Just results.
Whether you need a quick green-up before the photographer arrives, a front yard that holds its own through weeks of open homes and weekend drive-bys, or a rental property that presents well enough to attract quality tenants — the Lawn Rescue Kit gets your lawn from tired to impressive in six to eight weeks.
Available in three sizes to suit your lawn: Small (up to 100 sqm), Medium (up to 250 sqm), and Large (up to 500 sqm). Free shipping on Medium and Large kits.
Need more than lawn care? Browse our full Lawn Shop and Garden Shop for everything to get your property looking its best from the kerb to the back fence.