4 Paint Colors That Can Boost Your Home's Value

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If you want to sell your home, the right paint color can make a huge difference. No matter what Pantone's color of the year might be, a recent report found that certain colors boost a home's value. Blues and neutrals, in particular, can increase the amount you're able to get for your home.

Zillow, the home-listing app of choice for thousands of people who want to sell or buy a home, recently released its 2017 analysis of paint colors and home values. It's pretty interesting. Turns out that the right paint color in the right room can boost the selling price by several thousand dollars. (See also: 6 Questions to Ask Before Selling Your House)

Greige

You and I and every homeowner out there may have long grown tired of that grayish beige, the go-to neutral for the modern home. But homebuyers aren't tired of it. Zillow reports that as an exterior house color, a lovely shade of greige can boost the sale price by more than $3,000.

It's not just about the neutral, though; it's this particular neutral that makes buyers go batty, apparently. Homes with dark brown or taupe exteriors sold for less than their greige counterparts. All neutrals are not created equal when it comes to home sales. Taupe is out. Greige is in.

Navy blue

Navy blue is a perennial in home decor, a classic color that can work with a multitude of design styles. Perhaps its depth renders a solid, enduring feel to a home. Perhaps it's just everybody's secret favorite color. Either way, it turns out a front door painted in navy blue can garner an additional $1,500 in the home sale. Considering that you can paint a door for around $20, this is an update well worth the investment.

Navy blue can serve you well in other areas of the home, too. Dining rooms painted navy and sporting white trim can bring almost $2,000 more to the selling price. Go ahead and buy a gallon of interior paint in navy when you pick up that quart of exterior paint for the front door. (See also: Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Interior Design Style)

Other blues

Here is a short list of interior colors that homebuyers do not like: pink, red, and yellow. Why so much hate for these warm colors? There's plenty of room for speculation (a psychological hive-mind? An innate response to global warming?). Motivations are mysterious; money is easier to count. A pink bedroom will reduce selling price by $200 in some areas, and a red dining room will bring the price down by $2,000. So apparently people literally see red when they see red.

Here's a short list of interior colors that homebuyers really do like: blue. Make your world a blue world. Bedroom? Paint in light cerulean for potential $1,800 increase. Bathrooms in light powder blue or periwinkle are very popular, and those home prices got a boost of about $5,000. Kitchens are popular in light blue or soft grayish blue tones, and can add almost $2,000 to your home's value.

Oatmeal

There's one exception to the blue rule, and that's the living room. A living room in blue can reduce a home's value by $800. A living room painted in a light taupe or beige, however, can increase by $1,800.

And white is a major negative when it's in the bathroom. Homes with white bathrooms saw a decrease in value of around $4,000. Buyers seem to place a very high value on the bathroom being the right color. Keep your bathrooms blue and your living rooms the color of oatmeal, and everybody's happy.

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