What Paint Colours Are Buyers Willing To Pay More For?

Sellers typically tackle two home improvement projects before listing their home for sale, and interior painting is one of the most common and impactful projects sellers take on. Homeowners who are preparing to list their home for sale can be strategic about the paint colours they select to get the most bang for their buck. Interior paining with the right colours can pay for itself

Zillow ran a study between May 14, 202121 and May 20, 2021. Here is a summary of what they found. Sellers should consider this when it’s time to choose hues when preparing their home for sale.

The study

Each colour received a score based on how interested participants were in touring a home, buying a home the price they would be willing to pay for a home based upon that colour in a particular room.

Of the 15 colours the survey’s participants were shown, these were the ones consumers said were most likely to increase — or decrease — their bids for, depending on the room.

 The Results

The Bathroom

Pale Sky blue was the most popular colour for bathrooms scoring 93 out of 100.

Zillow’s survey participants said a light-blue bathroom motivated them to pay 1.6% more than expected. That calculates to $4,986 on an average priced home of $290,000.

Good alternatives: grey, dark grey, light yellow, off-white 

Though not as popular as light blue, neutral and delicate colours were also favoured by buyers. The use of these hues resulted in a slight increase in the prospect of a participant viewing a home or offering a potentially higher price.

Best avoided: bright yellow, bright green, bright red, pink

The survey revealed that a light-yellow paint may, on average, work in a seller’s favour. However, its brighter cousin caused a decrease in the likelihood of those surveyed being interested in viewing or making an offer on a home. Buyers tend to veer away from vibrant colours in the bathroom, so it is best to go with a softer shade

While light yellow was considered attractive as a bathroom hue, bright yellows, greens and reds, and pink were all considered turnoffs.

The Kitchen

White walls in the kitchen increased interest in touring or purchasing a home among survey participants.

But interestingly, the preferred alternatives to white weren’t just neutral colours. While light yellow and off-white scored well, dark greys, reds and greens also caught more than a few eyes..

Bright red, bright green bright yellow or pink could decrease the price that buyers would be willing to offer . Most of those surveyed had a negative reaction to bright colours in the kitchen. Bright red could decrease the price that buyers would be willing to offer by nearly $1,500, on average. A kitchen painted bright yellow was least likely to inspire intentions of purchasing the home.  

The Living Room

A grey living room wall colour resulted in the highest intentions to view and purchase a home.

Other alternatives were  light green, white, dark grey and light yellow which also scored positively.Light green brought an average offer -price increase by several hundreds, yet white and dark grey round out the top three colours for inspiring buyers to tour the home.

Best avoided were, pink, bright green and bright yellow which decreased interest to tour the property. All had a negative effect on prospective offer prices

The Bedroom

The primary bedroom is the best place for darker, moody colours if the seller is concerned about resale. Moody blues, charcoal greys or even forest greens scored high.

Though neutral colours were the top pick for bathrooms, kitchens and living rooms, Zillow’s survey participants were a little more adventurous about the boudoir. Dark blue was the bedroom colour that would most increase the average price consumers were willing to offer.

Light blue was another strong performer, along with white, bright blue and dark grey.

Yet again, bright yellow, bright green and pink were least likely to have a positive impact on buyers.

In Summary 

Play it Safe with Neutral Colours

Ultimately, it pays to play it safe when it comes to selecting paint colours in heavily trafficked common spaces, like the kitchen and living room. The colour white scored 80 out of 100 in the kitchen, while light grey in the living room scored 92 out of 100.

By using light neutral colours in the home’s common areas, allows buyers to project their self image into the home. Grey, dark grey, light yellow and off-white — were found to increase the likelihood that participants would either choose to view a home or make a higher bid.

Bright blue was the most polarizing colour – buyers either loved it or hated it with no in between.

You'll want to keep these colour findings in mind and think hard before choosing brighter paints, if getting the highest offer for your home is the plan.

Sources:

Zillow: http://zillow.mediaroom.com/2021-07-15-Homes-With-Light-Blue-Bathrooms,-Dark-Blue-Bedrooms-Could-Sell-for-Up-to-4,698-More-Than-Expected