I recently put my own house up for sale and the question of whether the colour of the walls could affect the value of the property was very important to me. At the first viewing, an elderly couple took one look at the – shall we say polarising – living room, painted a rich, dark brown (Cola, by Farrow and Ball), and couldn’t get over what it was like. The word ‘dark’ danced through their minds in every other light-filled room they entered. ‘Is this room a bit dark too?’ she asked as they entered a pale green study.
Then another buyer fell in love with the color and made an offer. Not necessarily because of the color, but she said, “I have the same color at home and I could move in right now.” So, in some unpredictable and inexplicable way, I had to come to the conclusion that color does indeed affect value. But what do the experts think? Are there hard and fast rules, colors that should be avoided at all costs?
Can the colors of the walls affect the value of your home?
(Photo credit: Dmar Interiors/Molly Rose Photo)
“Yes, they can, they do!” says Claudia Acevedo, a realtor and owner of Century 21 Real Estate on the West Coast. “The colors of the walls actually affect the value of a home. They are the first thing people see, the first impression, they set the tone and speak of the character of the home. They tell people what the home represents.”
Brandi Snowden, director of member and consumer survey research at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), agrees — albeit a little less emphatically. “I think something more neutral would be the easiest for buyers to envision their own wall color,” says Brandi. “I think something more neutral would be the easiest for buyers to envision their own wall color.”
NAR commissioned a report on home staging in 2023 and asked its members for their opinions and anecdotal evidence on areas related to the impact of staging and furnishings on sales rates.
“In the Home Staging Report, many of our members told us that a home sells more easily when it is decorated to the buyer’s taste,” Brandi said. The report looked at more comprehensive staging — decorating a home’s interior, adding soft furnishings — rather than just color, but its findings are relevant here, too.
It found that the average spend on home staging was between $400 and $600 (though of course that may include a coat or two of paint) and that it accounted for 34 percent to 10 percent of the home’s dollar value. Perhaps crucially, none of the respondents said that home staging had a negative impact on the home’s dollar value, which could be interpreted to mean that a fresh coat of paint – in a neutral shade favored by home stagers, such as off-white or soft gray – is likely to increase the value of your home.
Which colors increase the value of your home?
(Photo credit: Molly Rose)
Unfortunately, there is no set formula. There is no color that automatically increases the value of a home. Every property is different and every potential buyer has different tastes. But there are tips on how to choose the right colors to take your home in the right direction.
Brandi says some buyers are heavily influenced by what they see on TV shows. “As home staging shows become more popular, so do expectations for what a home should look like,” she says. “According to the Home Staging Report, about 23 percent of buyers are influenced by what they saw on TV.” And without exception, the colors used in the shows are gray, off-white, and other very neutral tones.
In fact, a report from Zillow found that charcoal gray is the perfect color to increase a home’s value when used in the kitchen. Homes with a charcoal gray kitchen can cost an estimated $2,512 more than comparable homes, according to the report.
However, this mandatory fact does not always have to be followed. “With exterior paint, it is very important that you choose the paint according to the style of the house and the effect you want,” says Claudia. “Bold colors can add character and look great in a modern home, whereas in an older home you may want something more charming, warm and inviting. I usually advise people to use lighter, more neutral colors and to use color to draw attention to details, such as trim or wood paneling.” This approach highlights the best features of a property and increases its value because it is immediately presented to the buyer.
Claudia says darker colours are currently in fashion and therefore may appeal to a wealthier, more affluent and trend-conscious audience. “We’re seeing a lot of monochrome colour schemes at the moment, which people seem to like,” she says. “Black wood panelling is a very striking choice that goes down really well.”
(Photo credit: Shelby Bourne)
It’s not just the color of the walls that can affect the value of your home. Claudia says that you can increase the potential of your property with other simple decorative changes.
“The front door is so important,” she says. “You always want a door that people will enjoy walking in through. For an older house with small windows, that might be a door with a large window, whereas for a more modern house with lots of windows, I would suggest a nice, solid door.”
Even easier than replacing the door? “Plants!” says Claudia. Maybe you can plant ornamental plants on the porch or you can plant some new plants around the house. That will make all the difference.”
