I agree. The hedges obstructing view of the porch area should go away. (But keep those at the left section of the house.) At the porch area, fill those planters with the easiest, durable, low growing annuals for lots of color. Make sure there is good soil in the planter so the plants will perform.

Remove that pot with the tree growing in it. Well, on second thought, remove the tree and plant trailing flowers in the pot. Put the pot on the porch.

The current placement of the pot adds to the ‘barricade’ feel of your front hedge.

House looks good. As others have said, trim the hedges, make sure the house is spotless and the windows shine!

In my earlier years I worked for a real estate eminent domain attorney and then as a real estate agent.

I sold my last home in 3 days with dark green carpet in the living room, 12x12 tile flooring throughout the other living areas, laminate counter tops and burgundy walls in the kitchen and family room.

Every realtor told me I needed to replace my flooring, countertops and repaint with a neutral color pallet. Many also gave me unrealistic expectations of what my home would sell for. (There were several new home golf course communities in the area that had higher sale prices than my 1970s neighborhood).

I did not use a realtor. I used a MLS listing service and sold my home using the comps that most closely realted to the home I was selling. I wrote my own description of the property

"Well maintained ranch home that checks all the right boxes. Located on a quiet cul-de-sac in a great neighborhood. Walking distance from Richland Elementary, Woodland Park MS and Mission Hills HS, all part of the desirable San Marcos Unified School District. Close to Woodland Community Park (Pool, Tennis etc). Amazing backyard. Perfect space for entertaining & for kids to play. Home features interior colors selected by Devine Color. Just minutes from CSUSM, Restaurants, Freeway Access and more!"

When people are buying a home they look at zillow and they limit their search by price and city or zip code. When realtors search for homes they limit the search to a price range, city/zip code, number of bedrooms.

If your home is overpriced it is going to be competing with the other listings at that price point and will not be purchased. It will sit on the market and when you lower the price people will wonder why it didn't sell for the first month or three months it was on the market. The longer it sits the more low ball offers you will get. Statistics show that homes that are overpriced at the onset of listing will be sold at a lower sales price than those that are correctly priced at the start of process.

When people come to your home the first thing they will notice is if your home looks neglected. It will frighten off buyers if they think you did sub par repairs or fixes in your home or didn't address repairs.

Your home looks like it was loved and well cared for. Make sure the inside looks the same.

Look for any signs of disrepair or lack of maintenance. Touch up any chipped paint, trim plants and hedges, keep the front patio swept and the yard mowed and watered. Do what you can to make your home look wonderful without spending much money on those changes.

The return on investment for almost all home improvement projects is south of 90%, so you will spend at least 10% more on the renovation than you will yeild in sales price. Many have a ROI of 50 or 60%.

Paint is often the exception. If your homer needs painting - paint it.

I made the decision not to paint because my paint was fresh and clean and the colors were kid friendly, worked with the other colors in my home and kept me from trying to compete with the new home builds that were all neutral. It was also a first time home buyer price range. Almost all apartments are white walled or very pale neutral walls. The color was a change from apartment living, so I played up the designer color angle.

My advice - Keep your money in your pocket. Decluttering and keeping everything clean and neat is the best thing you can do.

"... the soil in planters at the porch are actually about a foot below ground level- ..." That would be an obvious, and not difficult, thing to fix.

House looks lovely, so you're at a great starting point! Firstly, make sure the shrubs are trimmed nicely. New mulch if the bed is visible would go a long way. I would suggest adding variation in height and color for visual interest. To do this you could add a few simple planter pots (not too small) overflowing colorful plants and some flowers to add interest.

Beautiful home, some optional ideas:

I wouldn’t change anything except perhaps a few pots with bright flowering annuals. The current hedges look well cared for and may be what someone wants. If not, let the, buyer replace it to their taste. When you are putting something on the market is not the time to change out plantings.

Your house looks well cared for ... trust me, the hedges will not make or break the deal . It would be silly to re-landscape to sell. Waste of time, $ & effort. Many buyers would prefer what you have. Houses are purchased for many other reasons other than landscaping.

ive re-landscaped every home I’ve owned ... the landscaping never entered in the equation.