Painting With This Color Can Boost Your Home’s Sale Price by $6,000

When is a quick and cheap paint job worth $6,271?

When the paint is black and applied to a front door, according to Zillow.

The real estate website’s 2018 Paint Color Analysis found that on average, homes with front doors painted a shade of black sold for $6,271 more than similar homes with white walls.

The analysis was based on based on an examination of more than 135,000 photos of sold homes around the U.S.

4 paint jobs that increase home sale prices

Kerrie Kelly, a home design expert at Zillow, notes:

“For a seller, painting a front door is one the least expensive home prep projects, but also one that can have a powerful impact on a home’s sale price.”

No other combination of paint color and area of the home boosted home sale prices more than black front doors.

However, a black front door isn’t the only paint job that increases home sale prices. The analysis found four combinations of paint colors and home areas that have this effect.

Homes with:

1. Black front doors sell for an average of $6,271 more. Shades include charcoal and anywhere from smoky black to rich jet black.
2. Light taupe living rooms — $2,793 more. This could mean a warm tan with pink or peach undertones, or accent walls with darker peach to pink undertones.
3. Light blue bathrooms — $2,786 more. One example is periwinkle blue, often with a gray-blue tint.
4. “Tuxedo” kitchen cabinets — $1,547 more. This refers to light-colored upper cabinets paired with black or dark navy lower cabinets. It is often paired with a lighter wall color for high contrast.

3 paint jobs that decrease home sale prices

Zillow identified three combinations of paint colors and home areas that decrease sale prices.

Homes with:

1. Yellow exteriors sell for an average of $3,408 less. This includes anywhere from creamy bright yellow to flax yellow as well as warm yellow with brown undertones.
2. Red kitchens — $2,310 less. This includes anywhere from brick or barn red to a lighter raspberry red.
3. Brown dining room — $1,684 less. This includes oat brown to medium sandy brown, as well as brown with yellowish undertones.

For more ways to boost your home value, check out “The Home Remodeling Projects With the Best Payback.”

Are you surprised by any of these paint and room combinations? Share your thoughts below or over on our Facebook page.