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50 Shades of Sold | Top Paint Colors to Prep for Market
After necessary repairs, the second most strategic pre-listing project (and one we always recommend) is whole-home painting. Interestingly, the shade of paint sellers choose has a huge impact on its marketability. Let’s discuss why it’s not only important to paint before listing – but to paint it the right colors. We’ll also explore some examples of the transformative power of paint.
Why is painting before selling a home common practice?
Fresh paint adds value to homes on the market. Over the years spent in our homes, the walls inevitably show signs of wear and tear. The interior walls of most homes have scuff marks, stains, and chipped paint. Sometimes walls even fall victim to the artistic expression of toddlers. In most cases, the damage to walls is only paint-deep. When we apply a new coat of paint, we start with a clean slate. Hiring painters is a fairly affordable cost, so painting is a simple fix to help your home appear like-new to home buyers.
So, why is it important to pay attention to color choice when painting a home to sell it?
The right color selections can make homes brighter, cleaner, and more spacious. The wrong colors, on the other hand, might be too busy, and make rooms look darker, cramped, and unfashionable. Today’s home buyers are looking for move-in ready homes to personalize themselves. A bold color selection may deter buyers who aren’t willing to repaint before moving. When painting the interior of a home to sell, it’s important to not only cover up any scratches, chips, or scuffs that may have appeared over the years, but to also make the entire home look fresher. Essentially, we want to create an empty canvas for the next homeowners to start anew. Keep things as fresh as possible by choosing colors that make the home more marketable.
What are the best paint colors for selling a house?
We use light, neutral tones in our projects because they help make spaces appear bigger and help buyers imagine their unique belongings in the homes they visit. Furthermore, light neutral trends are least likely to be offensive and are still very much on-trend in home design. Our team has found that applying a fresh coat of the following paint in neutral tones helps to increase the value of homes.
These colors are delicate and unobtrusive, allowing potential buyers to focus on the house without being distracted. How do we determine which of these colors to use? We’ll help select the best shade during our listing assessment process, but we also recommend agents and sellers keep these tips in mind:
- Consider the permanent fixtures. Unless they are also going to be updated, consider the existing floors, tile, and finishes (i.e. doorknobs, faucets, etc.) when selecting the best paint color for selling a house.
- Don’t ignore lighting. The shade we select may look different depending on whether it is being lit by sunlight, florescent bulbs, or incandescent lighting.
We used Agreeable Gray in a recent project in Northern Virginia. This color makes rooms feel cool and contemporary, without seeming too trendy.
We often use Penthouse in basement remodels like the one we recently completed that you can see here. This color helps make the space feel as big and bright as possible.
The transformative power of paint
Everyone loves a good before-and-after story. You might be surprised at just how effective paint can be in transforming the visual appearance of a home. Let’s take a look at a selection of prime examples of how repainting home interiors makes them more desirable.
For this pre-listing project, we removed the wallpaper and painted the walls a neutral, grey color. The room not only looks so much brighter, but it looks larger, too!
For this pre-listing project, we removed the wallpaper and painted the walls a neutral, grey color. The room not only looks so much brighter, but it looks larger, too!
The primary focus of this post is how the right shades of interior paint can positively impact the appearance and value of a home. That said, we wanted to touch on a handful of other painting home improvement projects to consider.
Painting kitchen cabinets to sell
Depending on the condition of the existing cabinets, it may be best to save money by painting them, rather than removing and replacing them. We don’t have to fully replace or remodel kitchen cabinets for them to look brand new. We love how fresh paint in this muted, light cream tone transformed the visual appearance of the kitchen below.
Newly painted cabinets make this formerly outdated kitchen bright, sleek and modern.
Newly painted cabinets make this formerly outdated kitchen bright, sleek and modern.
Painting the exterior of a home to sell
Exterior updates boost curb appeal. We power wash homes regularly, because sometimes the exterior of homes need a little more TLC to avoid scaring off buyers. For this home, the siding was in such poor condition that the home screamed, “buyers, beware!” In actuality, the interior of the home was in great condition, but most buyers wouldn’t go far enough to see.
We like to get a bit more bold with exterior paint colors. Traditional home colors — blues, browns, white, and green — are often tasteful and help a home to stand out without being too intimidating. It’s important to make sure the exterior paint matches the look and feel of the surrounding neighborhood. Curbio Home Improvement Consultants are experts at selecting paint colors! That’s one of the benefits of working with our team — feedback on and insights into paint colors that have been successful in the past.
Paint and complete other home improvements with Curbio
Make sure your listing is market-ready by making necessary repairs and upgrades. We’re here to help prep the listing for sale from start to finish — with all materials and full-scale project management included, so you can spend time on what matters most – your clients.
Read about more pre-sale updates to complete before hitting the market or get started by submitting a free, same-day listing assessment for your listing.