Light and bright paint is out, and dark and dramatic is in when painting a house for sale, according to a new study from Zillow.
Zillow surveyed over 4,200 recent and prospective home buyers, asking them to rate how interested they were in buying a home, their likelihood of touring a home and the price they would be willing to pay for a home based on images of interior spaces painted different colors.
Results showed that colors significantly impacted perceived home values, and dark, moody shades increased value the most.
Buyers were willing to pay $1,597 more for a home with an olive-green kitchen, and navy-blue bedrooms boosted a home’s value by $1,815.
Living rooms painted dark gray or charcoal increased a home’s selling price by $2,593, while a mid-tone brown performed the best for bathrooms.
Homes fetched higher sales prices when painted these dark, moody shades, contrary to popular advice to paint homes light and bright colors before listing, the report found.
Additionally, certain vibrant colors decreased value in the study, causing buyers to pay thousands less. A daisy-yellow kitchen or living room lowered a home’s selling price by nearly $4,000. Buyers offered almost $2,000 less for homes with fire-hydrant red living rooms or bedrooms.
Paying attention to buyer preference for paint color is worth it when it comes time to sell, especially considering that nearly one-third of all homeowners already paint their homes before listing.
“Buyers view olive green and navy blue as contemporary colors, and that can have a halo effect on their perception of the entire home,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert. “These shades of blue and green are associated with organic modernism, a value-driving aesthetic that incorporates sustainable materials like wood and stone. These nature-inspired colors evoke the same feelings of serenity and tranquility.”