What Colors You Should Paint Your House If You’re Selling

You certainly don’t want your home expiring on a realtor’s listing sheet by having just minimal, or worse, no showing requests because it looks dull and shabby on the outside, unless you just want to test the real estate market. Getting a fresh coat of paint for your house with the right hues before selling, not only potentially increases your home valuation, but may also take your house off the market at full asking price before you can even bat an eyelash.

In a study done by Zillow in 2018, the color “greige” has become increasingly a paint color of choice. Homes with this trendy color netted an average of $3,496 more than the usual price. It’s a color scheme that’s somewhere between gray and beige. Paint experts, home buyers, and realtors alike, have all noted a pattern when it comes to getting houses quickly off the market with the combination of the right exterior paint colors. It’s common that homes with fresh neutral paint colors that complement the roof, have always attracted more buyers into purchasing because aside from looking clean and inviting, it also evokes a feeling that the home has been well-maintained. Choose a lighter shade on the exterior walls, and a darker one on the roof, or shingles.

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Another thing to consider in choosing exterior paints for your home, is to make sure you don’t violate any required color scheme of your HOA/ROA (Homeowner’s Association), or any existing guidelines of the neighborhood. You certainly don’t want to run the risk of your house standing out for the wrong reasons if your ultimate goal is to sell. You don’t want it to look like an abstract mess in the middle of a beautiful suburb. You attract more potential buyers if you opt for neutral shades (with even catchy names as these!) like taupe green, off-white, creamy latte, nimbus gray, cloud white – to name a few. You might also want to skip the idea of copying your next-door neighbor’s paint scheme if you want to avoid looking like a typical row housing project from a tropical country.

The color of your door should also stand out. Select a darker hue then the rest of the exterior. Go for a solid tone like black, or a darker shade of gray that would highlight the entrance of your cozy abode. You can never go wrong with neutrals, and a complementary color matching with the trims (or the roof). They tend to act like a “come inside, and buy me” signal from the outside, just like a perfect picture of any buyer’s dream home.

Photo credit: Sherwin-Williams Facebook

Leave your bright-colored fantasies to your imagination but not on the exteriors of your house unless your end goal is to make it look like a preschooler’s first coloring project, or a house fit for a funny caption on a social media post. Since your goal is to list the property and get it sold, make sure you’re choosing the right colors before putting your home up for sale.