This Surprising Paint Color Tricks Buyers into Paying More for a Home

If you’re in talks to potentially sell your home, Zillow is here with another tip for future sellers: Go dark. By that, they mean opt for moodier colors in every room—especially dark gray.

In one of Zillow’s latest press releases, their paint color analysis drew from a collection of studies of more than 4,700 recent and prospective home buyers in the United States. Most notably, there was a clear winner between two popular interior paint colors: white and dark gray. Houses with charcoal gray kitchens, for instance, were estimated to sell for $2,512 more than comparable homes. By contrast, having a white kitchen could reportedly lower your offer by $612.

This applies to other rooms in your home, too, including your living room, bathroom, and bedrooms. Adding the dark gray hue to a living room is reported to raise an offer by $1,755. That being said, the gray you choose really matters: Midtone gray doors negatively affected results, as the analysis found that black doors were preferred among buyers.

Thomas J. Story

C2 Paint’s color of the year, a terracotta hue, is also thriving in the bathroom. Earth tones are trending as popular interior paint colors, and putting them in your bathroom could increase your home value by an impressive $1,624.

Historically, there have been some consistencies with paint colors that could increase your home value. Zillow’s 2022 report focused on the best color for your front door, and deemed that slate blue, pale pink, and black were all top contenders. And back in 2021, Zillow’s report suggested the following colors for potential sellers looking to spruce up their homes: light blue in bathrooms and darker colors like dark blue and charcoal gray in primary bedrooms.

For even more ways to increase your home value, consider this: A recent report shared that exterior replacement projects will offer you the greatest ROI—and the top one to add to your list is heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) electrification conversion.