A Zillow survey reveals that dark gray may attract more prospective buyers — and higher offers — when you’re getting ready to sell.
If you’re selling your house, choosing the right interior paint colors could affect buyers’ initial interest in your home and how much you get for it.
“Paint is a relatively affordable and easy change, yet it has an outsized impact on a buyer’s perception of the home,” says Zillow’s home trends expert, Amanda Pendleton. The right paint colors could put money in your pocket. The wrong ones, however, could cost you. Here’s what you need to know when it comes to choosing the best paint colors for selling your house.
The best interior paint colors for each room
“All white walls are out,” Pendelton declared during Zillow’s 2023 Paint Color Analysis Webinar. Today’s buyers are saying goodbye to bland, popular paint colors. Instead, “recent and prospective homebuyers are willing to offer more money for a home painted in dark, moody colors,” Pendleton said.
In fact, dark gray is associated with higher offer prices than white in every room of the home that Zillow studied: the kitchen, living room, bathroom and bedroom.
Zillow’s survey of recent and prospective home buyers turned up these room-specific wins for paint choices:
Kitchen: Charcoal gray
Charcoal gray is a huge hit when it comes to kitchens. Although it might not seem intuitive, the proof is in the price. Homes with a charcoal gray kitchen can sell for an estimated $2,512 more than similar homes, according to Zillow research.
The classic white kitchen, however, is not nearly as popular as it used to be. It’s fallen out of favor with today’s buyers, who reported they would pay $612 less for a home that has one. “When a prospective home buyer looks at a picture or a house with a charcoal gray kitchen, in their mind — at a subconscious level — they are feeling like this home is current,” said Mehnaz Khan, a color psychology specialist and interior designer in Albany, New York.
Homes with a deep graphite gray kitchen can sell for an estimated $2,512 more than similar homes, while a midtone pewter gray kitchen can command $2,553 more than expected.
“These color trends, especially the charcoal gray, adds a richness and a depth to a home that you don’t see with those white walls,” said Dallas-based Zillow Premier Agent, Christie Cannon.
Living room: Dark gray
The living room is your place to unwind and feel cozy, and while you might be inclined to gravitate towards a neutral color, dark gray can actually be a crowd pleaser. According to Zillow research, a dark gray living room can bring in offers of $1,755 or more.
“Buyers have been exposed to dark gray spaces through home improvement TV shows and their social media feeds, but they’re likely drawn to charcoal on a psychological level,” said Khan. “Buyers want home to be a refuge,” she added. They want to withdraw and escape from the uncertainty of the outside world, and rooms enveloped in dark gray can create that feeling of security.”
Bedroom: Dark gray
Go gray when it comes to bedrooms. Whites might seem like the easy and intuitive choice here, but similar to living rooms, dark gray in the bedroom outperformed pale neutrals, with the potential to bring in offers of $1,859 more.
“Gray is the color of retreat,” Khan said. “As we come out of the pandemic and return to our hectic lives, buyers want home to be a refuge. They want to withdraw and escape from the uncertainty of the outside world, and rooms enveloped in dark gray can create that feeling of security.”
It’s important to create a sleep-inducing environment in your bedroom, Khan emphasized in the webinar. “Here, the purpose with color psychology is improving your wellbeing,” she said.
Terracotta brown bathrooms
Believe it or not, brown is big in bathrooms. In fact, earth tone colors have proven to be tremendously trendy in 2023, Pendleton pointed out.Earth tone paint colors are associated with higher offer prices when they’re used in bathrooms. Bathrooms painted a terracotta brown, a 2023 color of the year, could help a home sell for $1,624 more than similar homes.
What colors should I avoid?
“There is not a right or wrong color, but there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to do color,” Khan said.
Not all grays turn to gold when it’s time to sell your home. In fact, using a midtone gray can hurt your home’s sale price when it’s used on the house’s front door. Zillow’s research finds recent and prospective buyers would offer an estimated $3,365 less for a home with a cement gray front door. Rather, buyers prefer black front doors to those painted gray, and would offer $300 more for a home with a mid tone rosy brown front door.
When choosing the best paint colors for selling a house, a potential buyer needs to be able to imagine their furniture and décor in your house. And if your home is painted in highly personal hues — like, say, a foyer that’s a bright orange or a bathroom that’s sunrise yellow — it will likely be more challenging for them to do that. The house will feel like it belongs to you, not them. Bright, eccentric colors may be fun, but having them appear in your listing photos may deter some buyers and potentially narrow the pool of interested parties in your home.
Finish matters as well as color
Once you’ve chosen the right paint hues, pay attention to the paint finish you choose, too. Matte (or flat) finish paint does an excellent job of hiding imperfections in walls — the dings, scuffs and waves that are normal in any house that’s not brand new. Walls painted in a matte finish look smooth and new.
For ceilings, use a flat white paint to hide imperfections and reflect light, making the room look bigger and brighter.
A satin finish paint is great for trim, molding, and door jambs. That shiny paint will make the room look more modern and clean. But eggshell or satin finish paints tend to have a different effect on walls, highlighting every flaw and making them look older and more worn.
Should I paint my house before selling it?
Yes. New paint is a fast and relatively affordable way to make your home look newer, cleaner, and better maintained. Dirty or scuffed paint on the walls or trim may hurt your home’s resale value.
But it’s not just the condition of the paint on your walls that affects your home value. A fresh coat of paint in the right color may make your home more appealing to buyers. If you’ve repainted recently and your painted surfaces are in pristine condition, but your color choices are unusual (hello, parakeet green bedroom), you should consider repainting the walls before putting your house on the market.
“If you’re thinking about resale, you could boost your sale price by being really strategic about the colors that you paint your home,” Pendleton said.
Does painting increase home value?
Yes. Painting a home is one of the many things you can do to make it more appealing to prospective buyers.
Most homes have natural wear and tear, a few dings on the walls or nail holes remaining where art used to hang. These imperfections are particularly noticeable in marketing photos and virtual tours and buyers might be quick to spot them when they visit a house in person.
Applying a new coat of paint gives your home a fresh and updated look for potential buyers, making your home feel more appealing and updated. A recent Zillow survey conducted by The Harris Poll found 40% of recent sellers paint their home’s interior before selling, and nearly 30% said that this project helped their home sell.
“A fresh coat of paint — particularly in the right color — can deliver a powerful signal to potential buyers that a home is well-maintained and contemporary,” Pendleton said. “Paint is just this relatively easy, relatively inexpensive change,” she pointed out. “It does have this outsized impact on how potential buyers value a home.”