How Paint Choices May Impact Property Value (2024)

FAQs

Does paint affect home value? ›

But will painting your house increase the value? Yes, it can absolutely affect your resale value! Online real estate giant, Zillow, has conducted paint color analyses like this one over the past few years to determine which exterior and interior paint colors add the most value to your home during resale.

Appraisers don't look at the colors, interior or exterior, homes are sporting when determining their appraised values. A home's colors, just like its curtains and paintings, are subjective matters of taste, and appraisers don't evaluate taste when determining home values.

"Generally, going with neutral colors like shades of white, beige, taupe, and grays lead to a faster sale," she shares. "Neutral colors are also more appealing to potential buyers because many want the creative freedom of a blank canvas to add their personal touches to when looking for a new place to call home.

The significant ROI you can expect from a fresh coat of paint on your home's interior and exterior is an average $4,000 increase in your home's value. This means a 107% ROI for new interior painting and a 55% ROI for exterior painting.

A home's value is affected by local real estate trends, the housing market, the home's condition, age, location and property size.

Non-Neutral Paint Colors

So while painting is one of the best improvements to increase a home's value, that's not the case when the colors are outrageous. This is covered in things that can bring down property values. Painting is one of the improvements with the best return on investment in selling a house.

Errors may include assumptions errors, methodology errors, or math errors. If a report includes two or more indications of value that are significantly different from each other and they are averaged to get to the conclusion of value without any further explanation or support, that may be a red flag.

Just keep your communication to the appraiser about the facts of the home and neighborhood, how you priced the house, and any other relevant information you think the appraiser should know. And remember, don't discuss value. Don't pressure the appraiser to 'hit the value' and you'll be fine.

Aside from yellow and orange - if retaining value is important to you, look to jewel tones like purple, red, green and blue. Researchers say they hold their value better than average.

Slate Gray

Choosing the wrong shade of gray may either increase or decrease the final sale price of your home by more than $1,000. Homeowners who chose to use slate gray on their dining room walls, for example, got $1,100 below the expected sale price for their home.

What color paint fades the fastest on house? ›

Vibrant tones like reds, yellows, dark blues, and deep greens fade faster. In contrast, neutral tones like whites, greys, greiges, and beiges last longer. Not only will these paints stay color-true longer when they fade, but it will also look more natural.

We already mentioned how buying fewer cans of paint is often cheaper, but higher quality paint will also last for years longer than cheap alternatives. So, if cheap paint needs a new coat every few years, compared to the 5-10 you can get from more expensive paints, you save money in the future.

With an average cost of $3.50 per square foot, painting the interior of a 1,000 square foot home would cost $3,500, a 2,000 square foot home would cost $7,000 and a 3,000 square foot home would cost $10,500.

More expensive paints can be easier to apply, require less coats, last longer, be more resistant to dings and cracks, and perform better against the elements. In other words, yes, expensive paints are usually worth the cost. When properly applied, they will make your painting experience better and last longer.

Ultimately, the financial backing in a deal determines the property's value, and it's most often a mortgage lender making the call.

Supply and demand. The basic law of supply and demand have a major effect on the housing market. Simply put, as the housing supply decreases or as demand rises, creating an inventory shortage, home values go up. A real estate inventory shortage means that there are fewer sellers than there are buyers.

The current and future importance consumers place on the four factors of value (Desire, Utility, Scarcity, and Effective Purchasing Power) represents Demand and Supply of the product or service.

If you're putting your property on the market, you should repaint it before you have your first open house. Adding a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase the value of your home. You can get a higher return on investment (ROI) for your house with the right exterior colors.

On top of X-ing bright reds, steer clear of bright green, bright yellow and pink. Zillow's study found that kitchens painted these colors hurt buyers' intentions to purchase and overall decrease the likelihood of offers. The biggest takeaway here: Red and other bright colors might read too loud for buyers' taste.

Your home is more likely to sell with a fresh coat of paint, which is the very first thing buyers see. “You want to have nice, fresh impression for the buyers,” says Norris. “They don't want to come into a house that looks like it's been worn hard and is in poor condition.”

What if I think my appraisal is too high? ›

If a home is appraised to be higher than the asking price, the lender will only issue a mortgage for the appraisal amount. This leaves the borrower to either cover the remaining cost on their own or return to searching for a home with a listed price that matches the appraised value.

(a) No person with an interest in a real estate transaction involving an appraisal shall improperly influence or attempt to improperly influence, through coercion, extortion, or bribery, the development, reporting, result, or review of a real estate appraisal sought in connection with a mortgage loan.

“Subject To” appraisal

Should the appraiser find issues like loose handrails or cracked window glass, he or she will “flag” them. The FHA may require the buyer or seller to correct problems prior to closing. Appraisers will often indicate that the property is “Subject To.”

Appraisers are trained to overlook clutter. Stray clothes, scattered toys, unwashed dishes, unmade beds, disorganized closets, and other items that suggest you actually live in your house should not affect an appraisal if they don't affect its structural integrity.

If most of the recently sold homes in your area have carpet, then they'll price your home accordingly. Always consider this before you perform upgrades to your home. Appraisers are reluctant to price your home out of the surrounding market. So, you might not get a good ROI if you go overboard.

“In general, it's nice to have somebody there as long as they don't interfere with the process,” said Graham. “Be there to answer questions and provide necessary access, but just know when to keep your distance and let the appraiser do their work.”

A survey by interior design service Modsy has found that, among more than 1,500 respondents, the colors purple and yellow were the least popular paints, yet those same colors had the most positive influence on one's sense of well-being at home.

You can never go wrong with whites, creams, and greige.

We're all looking for a clean and soothing space to live in, and paint is the backdrop. My go-to colors are white, cream, and greige (gray+beige). Depending on your home, one of these options will be perfect.

While prices may already be in your favor, if you want to sell your home for the highest price possible, the color you paint your door could help. Painting your home's front door slate blue or black will net you the highest selling price for your home, according to research from Zillow.

Value could also be called “lightness.” It refers to how light or dark a color is. Lighter colors have higher values. For example, orange has a higher value than navy blue or dark purple. Black has the lowest value of any hue, and white the highest.

What color has the lowest value? ›

The lowest frequency of visible light, which is red, has the least energy.

Red paintings sell best. Studies have shown that paintings with red, orange, and other warm colors sell for the most at auctions. Blue is a close second in terms of sales. Paintings with colors at the warm or cool end of the spectrum sell because these color extremes create a strong emotional response in the art buyer.

One of the key benefits of white is that it plays to different interiors styles – and as such, is unlikely to ever fall out of fashion. 'Though moody hues are definitely on trend for 2023, white walls will never go totally out of style,' says interior designer Bethany Adams.

Every room of your home can be done in a different style and color palette if you want to. But if you're feeling like your home is a mess or too hectic or you just want to make more peace, you might consider creating more cohesion with each room.

White. White is, of course, always a good paint choice, because it feels elegant, fresh and clean. Plus, Gibbons says, “black and white are the most timeless colors you'll find anywhere and the most timeless color combination.”

White is the longest lasting colour among all car paint options.

Most professional painters calculate how much it'll cost to complete a job with thin margins, but sometimes there's some space for negotiating. Always be friendly when negotiating price, get multiple quotes to have references, and offer payment or timeline flexibility to sweeten the deal.

The price is based on the artist's exhibition history, sales history, and career level. In general, the greater the demand for an artist, the higher the prices fetched on the market.

Is there a difference between cheap and expensive paint? ›

Cheap paint is less expensive because it is thinner. It contains less pigment and binder—the most important ingredients in interior paint for an even application of color. In contrast, expensive paints ($30+/can) are of higher quality.

So, for 2000 square feet, you will likely need 5 gallons of interior house paint. For the top rated interior house paint, you can expect to pay anywhere between $50 – $80 per gallon. We recommend top brands, such as Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams.

For a larger home (around 3000 square feet), it will take 25 to 30 gallons and 5 to 7 gallons for the accented trim.

As a rule of thumb, the average gallon of exterior paint covers 300-400 square feet of surface area. That means you will need 8-10 gallons to paint the exterior siding of a 2,500 sqft house (one coat). We always recommend applying at least two coats for any exterior color changes.

When it comes to selecting paint, quality does matter. Whether you're looking at interior or exterior paint, and whether you're considering adhesion, durability or hiding properties, a better-quality paint will give you better service – both short and long term.

Before you start, buy all the paint for a room at the same time, and have it shaken at the home center. If you use it within a week, just stir it lightly.

Premium paints will undoubtedly produce satisfying results, and they are more likely to retain their quality as years go on. They will save you time spent on applying coats, and they will save you from having to buy additional paint to make up for low quality.

If you're putting your property on the market, you should repaint it before you have your first open house. Adding a fresh coat of paint is one of the most cost-effective ways to increase the value of your home. You can get a higher return on investment (ROI) for your house with the right exterior colors.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, painting may qualify as a capital improvement if it's part of large-scale improvements to a rental property. Painting by itself, however, is generally not considered a capital improvement.

Don't paint on hot days, in the rain or during windy weather. Ideal temperatures for painting are between 50 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Hot weather causes the paint to dry too quickly, as does direct sun. When possible, wait for the shade.

How many years should you paint a house? ›

Most homes need to be painted every 7 to 10 years, but the actual timeframe varies by material and region. For example, cement fiberboard siding needs repainting every 10 to 15 years, but more traditional cladding needs painting more often.

Leftover Paint

Please don't load them into the moving truck. The new residents will appreciate having the correct paint colors on hand to touch up the scratches and scuffs that inevitably come with moving.

As a general rule, you want to stick to as few colors as possible, even if they are all neutrals. Using the same color in more than one area will give your home an overall cohesive feel. It also makes your home seem bigger, since there is an easy flow from one room to the next.

Only expenses anticipated to have a favorable financial impact in the future can be capitalized. Painting houses do not count as capital improvements. Therefore, property owners cannot deduct the expense of painting from their taxes.

Whether the artist is unknown, emerging, or a blue-chip artist, it makes a huge difference. The price is based on the artist's exhibition history, sales history, and career level. In general, the greater the demand for an artist, the higher the prices fetched on the market.

Early summer and early fall usually offer up the best weather conditions, with minimal rain and minimal fluctuations in temperature from day to night. This will ensure the paint goes on smoothly and has the chance to dry and cure properly.

Shop seasonal sales.

Shop the week leading up to Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. "It's typically when paint manufacturers and retailers put paint on sale," says Debbie Zimmer, director of communications for the PQI.

On an episode of their popular home improvement show, Property Brothers: Buying and Selling, the duo—Jonathan and Drew Scott—noted that there are two colors that should never be used to paint interior walls: red and yellow.