Can the Paint Colors in My Home Help or Hinder a Sale?

Can the Paint Colors in My Home Help or Hinder a Sale?

Yes, you read that title right. The color of the paint throughout your home can make a huge difference when it comes to actually making a sale. They say your first impression is the most important, and the first thing you’re potential buy is going to see is color.

Exterior Paint Colors

The exterior paint colors are going to be influenced by the neighborhood in which you live. You’re going to want to have a nice, fresh look to your home without necessarily sticking out like a sore thumb. Case in point – many years ago there was a home in historic Haddonfield, NJ. The homes in that area are all governed by rules based on Victorian-era history. A homeowner painted his house purple – light/medium purples with dark purple trim. The paint job, despite making people angry enough to go to court (the homeowner won, as the color was Victorian), didn’t blend in with anything else in the neighborhood. The home stayed that way for many years, but it was definitely painted before it was able to sell again.

At the end of the day, colors on the neutral pallet tend to do best.

Interior Paint Colors

This is where things get tricky, and where you are most likely to have trouble, as the interior of your home is where you’ve done the most personalization in each room. We once met a couple who spent a great deal of time paining the inside of their home. Most of the rooms were neutral in nature but the kitchen was painted a lovely shade of yellow and their family room was painted a rust-color. People love bright kitchens that are full of light, so there was no problem with the yellow.

The rust-color was the problem because the den had a sports theme, complete with trophies and pennants. A key consideration in selling a home is giving a buyer the opportunity to image it as his own. No one who stepped into that den could visualize anything other than a sports room. Even removing the sports memorabilia didn’t really help. It wasn’t until (months later) they painted the room a neutral color that people started to take the home seriously.

It is, in general, better to stick with warm and neutral colors in your main living areas. Bedrooms should be soft and relaxing. Bathrooms need to be painted with colors that make them look larger instead of smaller, so whites are generally best.

You may have spent a ton of time making your home match your personality, but if it’s really time to move on, you may have to seriously consider undoing some of that work. Selling a home means making it appealing to as many people as possible. Talk to your real estate agent if you need help deciding which areas are a priority for change.