At A Glance
If you’re thinking about painting your home to help sell it, that may be a great decision. While your home may reflect “you” to a “t,” buyers need to imagine themselves in a house, and neutral tones are best paint colors for selling a house in most cases. Learn more about how to paint your home to sell for top dollar.
For home sellers, whether to make repairs prior to putting a house on the market is a tricky question to answer.
Determine whether those projects will add more value to your home than they cost to complete.
If you’re considering investing in any improvements — e.g., landscaping, cleaning or replacing carpets, a new roof, etc. — it’s always a good idea to consult with a top local agent before pulling the trigger.
Repainting is one of the most common presale improvements, because it’s relatively inexpensive and can have a big impact on your ability to attract an offer quickly and at your ideal price point.
Here’s everything you need to know to make the right decision, given your specific situation and goals.
Should I paint my house before selling?
Yes, in most cases, you should paint your house before selling. But only if you want it to sell for the best price. If you want to dive in further and be 100% sure that you should, in fact, paint your house before you sell it, here are some questions to ask yourself:
Did you hang any pictures on the walls with nails?
Are there holes in the wall or patches on the wall that haven’t been fixed and painted over?
Is there more than one color on the walls of your house (not including white)?
Is there writing on the walls anywhere in the house?
Is there an accent wall or any murals in the house?
Have you lived in the home for over five years?
Are you a smoker?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should paint your house before selling it if you want to attract more buyers.
What are colors to avoid painting your house?
We’ve gone over what colors you should paint your home, but what colors should you avoid? Are there colors that earn you less from buyers’ offers? Here’s what we’ve found:
Kitchens: Avoid yellow! Kitchens painted yellow sold for $820 less on average.
Bathrooms: It’s hard to believe, but bathrooms painted white sold for $4,035 less on average according to Zillow’s report.
Bedrooms: Many buyers need a blank canvas to imagine themselves living in a house. Bedrooms are no exception! Bedrooms painted pink sold for $208 less on average.
Dining Rooms: It’s time to paint over that red dining room. Red dining rooms sold for $2,031 less on average.
Living Rooms: Interestingly enough, living rooms are the one place you want to avoid blues. Homes with blue living rooms sold for $820 less on average.