The Paint Colors That Sell and the Ones That Don’t

Paint colors play a crucial role in successfully selling a home, having the power to influence a homebuyer’s decision to make an offer or move on—and the best colors, according to a new Zillow analysis, are blues and grays.

Homes with bathrooms that have soft blue walls (e.g., periwinkle, powder blue), specifically, sold for $5,440 more than expected in the analysis, as well as homes with a “greige” (beige/gray) exterior, which sold for $3,496 more than homes with brown or tan stucco exteriors. Homes with dark navy blue and/or slate gray front doors also sold for more: $1,514.

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Certain colors, though, have the opposite effect, lowering sale prices by a few thousand dollars or more. In fact, homes with bathrooms that have white walls sold for $4,035 less than expected, while homes with darker walls (e.g., brick red, terracotta) sold for $2,031 less than expected.

“Color can be a powerful tool for attracting buyers to a home, especially in listing photos and videos,” says Dr. Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow. “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.”

Lifehacker recently shared a study conducted by the real estate website that analyzed photos from over 50,000 sold homes.

Paying close attention to the colors of main rooms like the kitchen, bathroom, dining room, and living room, Zillow found that homes with yellow kitchens sold for around $1360 above their expected values, while homes with white kitchens fell an average of $82 short of their estimated values.

The data also showed that homes with oatmeal or beige-colored bathroom walls came in $283 over value, while light green to khaki-colored bedrooms yielded an average of $1331 above expected value, and terracotta living rooms translated to around $793 less when all was said and done.

One of the biggest discrepancies was with dining room paint colors, where shades of purple could put sellers $1122 above expected values, but certain shades of grey could place them $1122 below estimates.