Get All Access for $5/mo

These Paint Colors Up Your Chances of a Higher Offer Price on Your Home, According to a New Zillow Study Home interiors painted in dark hues — especially in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom — were associated with higher offer prices than similar homes painted in pale neutrals and white.

By Madeline Garfinkle

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

ImageFlow | Shutterstock
Homes with grey kitchens tend to sell for nearly $2,500 more than those in white.

If you're selling your home and looking to spruce up the place before it hits the market, you might want to consider a new paint job.

According to a new report by real estate marketplace Zillow, certain paint colors coincide with higher offer prices, while some colors actually hinder a home's sale price.

The report studied over 4,700 recent and prospective home buyers, assigning them images of home interiors and front doors painted in one of 11 colors, after which the subjects scored the homes based on the likelihood of touring and the price they'd be willing to pay.

Dark grays in general were associated with higher offer prices than white in every single room studied in the report. Homes with a charcoal gray kitchen, for example, can sell for an estimated $2,512 more than similar homes, and dark gray (as opposed to pale neutrals) in the living room or bedroom can sell for about $1,755 more.

White, which may seem like a safe paint option, can actually hinder a home's sale price by $600, the report found.

Related: 8 Ways to Maximize Your Home's Sale Value

"Buyers have been exposed to dark gray spaces through home improvement TV shows and their social media feeds, but they're likely drawn to charcoal on a psychological level," said Mehnaz Khan, a color psychology specialist and interior designer in Albany, New York, in the report. "Gray is the color of retreat. As we come out of the pandemic and return to our hectic lives, buyers want home to be a refuge."

However, grey isn't an automatic money maker, and when utilized in one location of a house, it can actually hurt the home's sale price. The report found that homes with a mid-tone gray front door are sold for an estimated $3,365 less than similar homes.

Related: Get This Smart Color Sensor for Only $70 and Save Time on Home Improvement

Madeline Garfinkle

News Writer

Madeline Garfinkle is a News Writer at Entrepreneur.com. She is a graduate from Syracuse University, and received an MFA from Columbia University. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

The Side Hustle He Started in His College Apartment Turned Into a $70,000-a-Month Income Stream — Then Earned Nearly $2 Million Last Year

Kyle Morrand and his college roommates loved playing retro video games — and the pastime would help launch his career.

Business News

A Former Corporate Lawyer Now Makes Six Figures on YouTube — Here's How She Does It

Here are the secrets to starting and growing a successful YouTube channel, according to a YouTuber with millions of subscribers.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Growing a Business

How to Determine The Ideal Length of Your Marketing Emails Your Customers Will Actually Read

Wondering how long your marketing emails should be? Here's what consumers say — so you can send them exactly what they like.

Business News

Y Combinator Helped Launch Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Here's What I Learned From Its Free Startup School.

The famed startup accelerator offers a free course on building a business — and answers five pressing questions for founders.