Putting Your House on The Market? This Paint Color Could Make it Sell for More

At this point, you’ve probably noticed: dark, moody interiors are here to stay. This comes on the heels of our breakup with the modern farmhouse look, where a recent Zillow report found that a white kitchen could decrease your home’s value by $600. That said, the report also identified a paint color that could boost the ROI by $2,512: dark gray.

In Zillow’s report, which tapped more than 4,700 recent and prospective home buyers across the country, dark gray was associated with higher offer prices than white in every room of the home studied. That said, homes with a deep graphite gray kitchen were estimated to sell for an additional $2,512 while a mid-tone pewter gray kitchen has the potential to bring in $2,553 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,” says Mehnaz Khan, a color psychology specialist and interior designer, in the report. “Gray is the color of retreat. 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.”

To that end, dark gray in the living room and bedroom outperformed pale neutrals as well, with the potential to increase offers by at least $1,755. However, it’s worth mentioning: “Not all grays turn to gold when it’s time to sell. Midtone gray can hurt a home’s sale price when it’s used on the front door,” according to Zillow’s research. “Recent and prospective buyers would offer an estimated $3,365 less for a home with a cement gray front door. 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.”

Bottom line? Keep the moody grays to the kitchen, bedroom and living room (and stick with black or brown front door colors to boost your home’s resale value).

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