Which Paint Color Adds The Most Value To Your Home?

Photo: archideaphoto, Getty Images.

If you’re thinking about selling your home (and why wouldn’t you be? The market is hot!), you know how important it is to make a good first impression. Paint color can make or break a buyers’ interest, even before they walk through the front door. A new analysis from Zillow looked at 32,000 photos from sold homes and found that paint color and selling price were closely related. Paint your walls the wrong color, and the offer you receive from potential buyers could fall well below your magic number.

What’s lucrative and what’s not? Well, homes with blue or light gray-hued walls may sell for as much as $5,400 more than homes with walls painted other colors. That’s not a one-color-fits-all-walls truism, however. Some rooms shine in blue hues while others fail. The exterior color of your home is also crucial in determining price, as is the paint color of your front door.

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“Color can be a powerful tool for attracting buyers to a home, especially in listing photos and videos,” says Svenja Gudell, Zillow chief economist. “Painting walls in fresh, natural-looking colors, particularly in shades of blue and pale gray not only make a home feel larger, but also are neutral enough to help future buyers envision themselves living in the space. Incorporating light blue in kitchens and bathrooms may pay off especially well as the color complements white countertops and cabinets, a growing trend in both rooms.”

Paint is so inexpensive compared to its sales price pay-off, you’d be a fool not to put a fresh coat on the most important rooms prior to an open house. Follow our simple slideshow for the “do”s and “don’t”s of painting your walls to maximize your home sale profit!