According to real estate experts, these room colors will help you sell your home quickly and for more money.
You’ve probably heard that home buyers pay attention to the colors of your walls. Color preferences are subjective, but it is common knowledge that certain colors will sell your home faster and for a higher price. After all, the colors of your walls are one of the first things prospective buyers will notice, and first impressions are everything.
We asked real estate professionals for their most recent thoughts on which room color ideas will sell your home the quickest and for the highest possible price. The results might surprise you (spoiler alert: it’s not all about white).
1. KITCHENS: CHEER THEM UP WITH LIGHT GREENS
If you’re looking for kitchen color ideas with a sale in mind, real estate professionals recommend sticking with light colors. However, going all-white is unnecessary because it can look dated and unmemorable. Instead, consider light and muted greens. Green kitchen ideas are currently popular.
Green is the color of plants and spring, and it has positive associations; however, if you’re selling, it’s best to avoid overly bright shades. Martin Orefice, CEO of Rent To Own Labs, says his favorite color for selling is pale green, and he suggests using understated wall colors and letting ‘the tile, countertops, and kitchen cabinets do the talking – and set the tone.’
Ron Wysocarski, a real estate broker and the CEO of Wyse Home Team Realty in Florida, agrees and says that ‘a light, nearly neutral green (think mint or soft sage) is an excellent method to improve a kitchen.’
2. BEDROOMS: DARK BLUE STILL WOWS
This is fantastic news for homeowners who have used blue bedroom ideas in their home decor. Blue bedrooms are still a popular choice among homebuyers. We Buy Houses Chicago’s Cam Dowski says that “buyers of real estate consistently rank blue as one of their favorite hues, whether light or dark.”
Don’t be afraid to experiment with deep navy hues. According to Dowski, dark blue works particularly well in children’s bedrooms, “where survey participants preferred heavier, moodier hues that contribute to a comfortable ambiance.”
Even master bedrooms can be painted in dark, moody blues. According to Martin Orefice, the bedroom is “the one area where it’s generally acceptable to go dark.” If you have multiple bedrooms, try not to paint them all the same color. Instead, Orefice suggests picking a different color for each bedroom and incorporating ‘a variety of saturation levels if you have multiple bedrooms in the home.’
According to Dowski, dark blue paint colors in the bedroom can increase home values by $1,500.
3. LIVING ROOMS: LIVEN THEM UP WITH ACCENT WALLS
Again, avoid following out-of-date advice that tells you to play it safe and paint your living rooms white. While it is best to avoid using overly bold and aggressive colors (such as bright red), an accent wall in the living room can leave a lasting impression on potential buyers and give your house a fashionable edge. Accent walls are a great way to make a living room pop, according to Orefice, and they can even be used to play with the dimensions if you know what you’re doing.
If you’re unsure about the color of your accent wall, think about warm and deep shades of brown or gray to complement a white or cream living room. According to Rafael Murillo, Luxury Real Estate Broker at Compass, ‘rich brown hues, greenish-gray, and soft creamy are the best colors in the living room to create a soothing space and attract a lot of buyers to your home.’
4. BATHROOMS: CREATE A TRANQUIL SPACE WITH PALE BLUE
In 2023, home buyers want tranquil spaces in their new homes, and this is especially true of bathrooms. Again, the current trend is away from standard-looking white bathrooms, which can be perceived as too clinical and uninteresting. According to Ron Wycokarski, “homes with white bathrooms sell for $4,035 less on average.” This doesn’t mean you should go overboard with color in the bathroom, but painting it a light powdery blue will do wonders for your home’s sale.
According to Ron Wycokarski, “pale blue is a fantastic choice for making a smaller area feel lighter, friendlier, and more expansive, such as a bathroom or laundry room.”
Cam Dowski agrees, stating that ‘light-blue bathrooms are a popular choice that can significantly increase the value of your home.’ For a home with a blue bathroom, home buyers are willing to pay 1.6% more than expected.
5. HOME OFFICE: STICK WITH WHITE
The home office is the one room in the house where sticking with white paint pays off. Gunner Davis, a top-rated real estate broker in Tampa, Florida, suggests that ‘when it comes to a home-based workspace, it is important to ensure an environment that helps to maximize efficiency. White is a clean color that provides a tidy, peaceful, and soothing vibe that aids concentration at work.’ While the home buyers may then choose to investigate more daring home office paint color ideas, it is best to leave the decision to them.
CAN BRIGHT COLORS HELP ME SELL MY HOME?
If you prefer bright colors in your home and are wondering if you can keep them when selling, our real estate experts advise you to be cautious and understated. According to Martin Orefice, “bright, saturated colors can be effective when used strategically,” such as “in a foyer, as an accent wall in a living room, or perhaps in a bedroom.” If you want to sell quickly and for more money, it’s best to go with muted tones that will appeal to those who like specific colors without turning off people who might find them too loud.
‘Even if a prospective buyer doesn’t like the specific shade of gray, they won’t feel pressured to paint it over, as they might with, say, pink,’ says Ron Wysocarski. Unless the house is being sold as is, make sure the buyers believe they will need to put in no or very little effort to move in.’
The good news for sellers is that neutrals in 2023 don’t have to mean all-white interiors. Choose tasteful, understated shades of green, blue, gray, and brown, and your home will appeal to buyers while remaining enjoyable to live in the interim.
