The One Paint Color That Could Sell Your House Faster Than You Think

written by

Jim Mucci

posted on

November 22, 2024

paint color boosts sales

Want to sell your home fast? Try painting it "greige." This mix of gray and beige helps homes sell much faster. People who paint their homes greige can get $3,500 more when they sell. Buyers love how greige looks in photos when they search for homes online. This color makes rooms feel warm and friendly. It works best in places like living rooms and front doors, where people first see your home. Many home sellers say greige is their best tool to make homes more appealing to buyers.

The Psychology Behind Paint Colors

color psychology in design

Paint colors do more than make your home look nice – they change how people feel when they walk in.

Think of colors as mood-makers. Red and orange can make people feel excited, but sometimes too excited. Blue and green help people feel calm and peaceful.

Plain colors like white, gray, and tan make most people feel good. These simple colors help people relax when they look at your home.

Light colors can make a room feel bigger. Dark colors can make a room feel snug, like a warm blanket.

When you pick paint colors, you're not just making your walls pretty. You're helping people feel good in your home.

Real Estate Market Research Findings

We looked at how paint colors help sell homes across America. Many people like to buy homes painted in calm colors like soft gray-beige or light blue. These colors can add $2,000 to $5,000 to what you can sell your home for.

Where you live affects which colors work best. People near the ocean love blue paint. People in the desert areas like brown and tan colors better.

Studies show the right paint color can help you sell your home up to 10% faster than other homes like yours.

Sales Data Analysis Patterns

People love buying homes painted in calm, soft colors. Houses with gray-beige walls sell much faster than others.

Homes with light blue bathrooms make more money – about $5,440 more! White kitchens also help homes sell for better prices.

Dark and bright wall colors make houses harder to sell. These homes often get less money – up to $6,000 less.

Home buyers like to look at houses with simple, gentle colors. They can better picture living in these homes. This is true no matter where the house is or how much it costs.

Market Value Impact Study

Paint colors can have a big effect on how much your home sells for. The right colors can help you get more money when you sell your house.

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Studies show some clear facts about paint colors and home sales:

Light blue bathrooms helped homes sell for $5,440 more.

Gray living rooms sold for almost 4% more than white ones.

Tan or beige homes on the outside sold three times faster than homes with bright colors.

Smart paint color choices do more than make your home look nice. They help you make more money when you sell.

If you want to sell your home, pick these colors to get the best price.

Regional Color Preference Trends

People in different parts of America like different colors for their homes.

Near the ocean, folks pick light blues and greens that look like the sea. In desert areas, people love brown and tan colors that match the sand and rocks.

Up in the Northeast, people paint their homes white and dark blue.

Down South, they pick soft, pretty colors and light tan.

In the rainy Northwest, homes are often green or gray like the forests.

People in the middle of the country stick to safe colors like tan and gray.

When you paint your home, think about what colors people like where you live.

This helps if you want to sell your house later.

Top Selling Color Revealed

best selling color unveiled

Houses with greige paint on the outside sell for more money.

Greige is a mix of gray and beige colors. When people look at houses for sale, they like greige best. More people want to look inside houses painted in greige than any other color.

Many studies show that greige homes sell for about $3,500 more than homes painted in other colors. This is true for small houses and big houses.

If you want to sell your house, painting it greige might help you get more money.

Best Price Point Data

Paint colors can help you sell your home for more money. Zillow found that homes with light blue bathrooms got $4,698 more than other homes. White house paint on the outside helped homes sell for 1.8% more too.

Some colors work better in different rooms:

  1. Dark blue makes kitchens worth $1,514 more
  2. Tan makes living rooms worth $1,809 more
  3. Light gray makes dining rooms worth $1,122 more

A few cans of paint can make your home worth much more.

Pick these colors to make the most money when you sell your home.

Buyer Attraction Statistics

Colors can help you sell your home faster and get more people to look at it. A light blue bathroom makes people 1.6 times more likely to want to see your home.

If you paint your kitchen slate blue, it gets 1.8 times more looks from buyers. White house fronts get 1.7 times more clicks when people look online.

These colors also help homes sell faster. A light blue bathroom helps a home sell almost 3 days sooner.

A slate blue kitchen can help you sell up to 3.5 days faster. In today's busy housing market, using the right colors can help your home sell before others do.

Market Research Analysis

Gray walls help sell homes faster and for more money. We looked at how 50,000 homes sold and found that people love gray paint inside their homes.

Gray isn't just pretty – it helps you make more money! Homes with gray walls can sell for $2,500 more than other homes.

Here's what we found:

  • Homes with light gray living rooms sell almost one month faster than homes with white walls.
  • Gray kitchens help homes sell for more money.
  • When people look at homes, they like gray bedrooms the most.

If you want to sell your home, painting it gray is a smart choice. It's like giving your home a new look that buyers will love.

Why This Color Works

Greige is a mix of gray and beige that helps sell homes. People love this color because it feels warm and new at the same time. When buyers walk in, they can see their own stuff fitting right in.

This color goes well with any other colors in your home. It looks great with wood and metal too.

When you take photos of your home to sell it online, greige shows up clear and bright. More and more people want this color in their homes.

Using greige can help you sell your home fast and for good money.

Return on Investment Data

investment performance measurement metrics

Paint colors make a big difference when you sell your home.

Pick the right colors and your home could sell for 10% more money than other similar homes. This means you might get $5,000 to $15,000 more money when you sell.

Plus, homes with fresh paint often find new owners one to two weeks faster than other homes. A new paint job helps your home stand out from others for sale in your area.

Market Value Increase Percentages

Paint Colors That Help Sell Your Home

The right paint colors can help you sell your home for more money. Let's look at how much more you can earn by picking smart colors.

In the kitchen, white or off-white paint can add $8,000 to $12,000 to your home's price. Many buyers love these clean, bright colors.

Blue is a winner in bathrooms. Light blue walls can bring in $10,000 more when you sell. People feel calm and fresh in blue bathrooms.

For living rooms, stick to simple beige or greige (gray-beige). These warm colors can add $5,000 to $7,500 to your sale price. Buyers can picture their own items in these soft, warm rooms.

These colors work because they help buyers feel at home. When buyers feel good in a space, they're ready to pay more for it.

Plus, homes with these colors often sell faster.

Sale Price Comparison Stats

Painting your home the right colors can help you get more money when you sell it. Many people who sold their homes found that some colors work better than others.

If you paint your walls a mix of gray and beige, you could get $3,496 more for your home. Light blue bathrooms add $2,786 to the price. White kitchens help homes sell for $1,974 more.

But picking the wrong colors can hurt your sale price. Dark or bright colors on walls can make your home sell for $2,310 less. Brown dining rooms lower the price by $1,684.

The good news is that paint is cheap – you only need to spend about $385 to paint inside your home. This small cost can help you make much more money when you sell.

Time-to-Sale Statistics

Paint colors can help sell your home faster. Most homes sell faster when they use simple, calm colors instead of bright or bold ones. Homes with the right colors can sell about two weeks sooner.

Want to sell your home fast? These colors work best:

  1. Light gray living rooms sell faster than white ones.
  2. Light tan-gray outside paint helps homes sell faster than brown or tan.
  3. Light blue bathrooms get offers in less than two weeks, while bright or dark bathrooms take three weeks or more.

When you get ready to sell, pick these colors to help your home sell quickly. Smart color choices mean less time waiting for a buyer.

Best Rooms for This Shade

Your home has perfect spots for neutral colors. Living rooms, dining rooms, and front entries are great places to start. When people walk in, these are the first rooms they see.

In the kitchen, soft tan colors make the room feel warm and friendly. People can picture cooking and eating there with their family.

Your bedroom and work space also do well with calm, neutral colors. These rooms help people feel at ease.

Even small rooms and bathrooms look better with neutral paint. When all your rooms share the same soft colors, it makes your whole house flow better. People love this when they look at homes.

Professional Painting Tips

expert techniques for painting

First, clean your walls like the pros do. Fix any holes and make them smooth.

Get good tools – nice brushes and rollers will help you paint better. Stick blue tape on edges to keep paint lines neat.

Use primer first – this helps the paint stick well. To reach high spots and save your back, use long poles to hold your roller.

Keep your paint in a tray so you can work fast and not get tired.

Prep Walls Like Pros

Get Your Walls Ready to Paint

Clean walls help paint look great and sell homes faster. Take off all covers from light switches and outlets first. Remove window blinds and curtains too.

Make your walls look smooth:

  1. Use putty to fill holes and cracks. Let it dry, then sand it flat.
  2. Wash walls with TSP cleaner. This removes dirt and grease.
  3. Paint a coat of primer. This helps your new paint color look right.

The smoother your walls, the better they look to home buyers. The primer helps most when you paint over dark or bright colors.

Best Tools For Success

You need good tools to paint your home well before you sell it. Get nice brushes and rollers for a clean look. Pick a 2½-inch angled brush to paint near edges. Use soft rollers on smooth walls.

Get a strong metal paint tray. The tray should have liners you can throw away when done. You also need tape and cloths to keep paint off floors. A long pole helps you reach high spots without hurting your back. A paint edger helps make straight lines where walls meet.

These tools make painting faster and better. When you use them right, they help make your home look great to buyers.

Common Color Mistakes

Paint Colors That Help Sell Your Home

When a house takes too long to sell, the paint colors inside might be the problem. The wrong colors can make buyers walk away before they even come inside.

Let's look at paint mistakes that hurt home sales:

Bold colors like bright purple or neon green may look fun to you, but most buyers won't like them.

When you paint each room a different color, your home feels choppy. This makes rooms look smaller.

New, trendy colors get old fast. Simple, basic colors work better because more buyers like them.

Think about what buyers want to see. Pick colors that help them picture their family in your home. Soft whites, warm beige, and light gray work well in most homes.

Complementary Design Elements

harmonious aesthetic balance

Your home's paint needs to match its other parts. Look at the floors, doors, and all the items that stay with your home. When colors go well together, each room will feel right as you walk through.

Look at your lights and door handles. If they're silver, pick cool colors like blue or gray. If they're gold or brown, pick warm colors like tan or cream. Your curtains should look good with your walls, not fight with them.

The outside of your home is just as important. Your roof, walls, and yard plants need to look good with the colors inside.

When they all work as one, people will want to buy your home.

Buyer Perception and Preferences

When you walk into a home, colors make you feel things right away. People want homes that feel warm and friendly.

They also want homes that look clean and well-kept.

Colors can make buyers want your home more or less. Some colors make them feel good, while others might turn them away.

Today's home buyers really like these colors:

  1. Light gray and beige-gray make rooms look nice and fancy
  2. White and cream colors make spaces feel clean and fresh
  3. Light blue-gray in bathrooms and bedrooms can make buyers offer more money

Picking the right colors helps your home sell better.

Good colors bring in more buyers who want to make strong offers.

Color Testing Before Committing

pre commitment color evaluation

Want to pick new paint colors for your home sale? Here's how to test them well.

Get small cans of your top three colors. Paint big squares – about two feet wide – on your walls. Look at these squares all day long. The sun makes colors look different as it moves.

Take time to study the colors. Keep them up for two days. Take lots of pictures with your phone. This helps you see colors in a new way. Turn on your lights at night to see how the colors look then. Many people who want to buy homes come look in the evening.

Make sure your new colors look good with the white trim around your doors and windows. They should also match your floors and other things that stay in place.

When all these parts work together, your home will look its best.

Seasonal Considerations for Painting

Your home needs fresh paint at the right time to look its best. Pick the right time to paint and your house will shine when you sell it.

Spring and fall are the best times to paint outside. The air is just right – not too hot or cold. This helps the paint stick better and last longer.

Watch out for these times:

  • Hot summer days make paint dry too fast and bubble up
  • Cold winter days keep paint from drying right
  • Wet, sticky days make paint take too long to dry

Working With Existing Home Features

maximizing current home elements

Your home has special parts that can't be changed easily – like floors, counters, and cabinets. These parts should help you pick paint colors that look good together.

Think about what you have in your home right now. Pick colors that make these parts look even better. Don't pick colors that fight with what's already there.

What You Have Colors That Work Colors to Stay Away From
Dark Wood Warm beige Cool gray
Marble Soft white Bold yellow
Brick Earth tones Pastel pink
Stone Sage green Bright orange
Tile Cream Electric blue

The things in your home that can't move are like a map for your paint colors. When you pick colors that look good with these parts, your home will look nice and put together. This will help if you want to sell your home later.

Paint Preparation and Application

Getting ready to paint makes your work look great. First, clean your walls well. Fix any holes you see. Cover your floors and furniture to keep them clean. Always use primer – it helps the paint look better.

When you paint, follow these steps:

  1. Use a small brush for edges and corners. Work bit by bit so the paint stays wet.
  2. Pick the right roller for your walls. Roll the paint in W shapes to spread it well.
  3. Paint two light layers instead of one thick layer. Let each layer dry first.