Can White Kitchens Hurt Your Home Sale Price?

Every real estate agent knows that a fresh coat of paint and staging before listing a home for sale makes it easier for prospective buyers to imagine themselves in the space. Often this means making the home design and color scheme more neutral to appeal to a wider audience. This typically leaves home sellers and stagers with a couple paint options: white and off-white. However, a recent Zillow study tells of new paint color trend emerging. Zillow's study said, "dark gray is associated with higher offer prices than white in every room of the home studied." Gone are the days of all white walls as a new era of dusky, dramatic walls takes the stage.

Zillow's paint color analysis was based on a series of studying more than 4,700 recent prospective home buyers across the country. In each study, the buyers were randomly assigned images of a home with interior spaces and front doors painted in one of 10 or 11 colors. Each color received a score based on buyers’ perception of the home, the likelihood of touring that home and the price they would be willing to pay for the home. 

Now these new trends don't automatically mean ditch the white paint and go gung ho for gray. Zillow's study covered each room in a house and found differing opinions per room. It seems not all grays turn to gold when it's time to sell. A midtone gray can hurt a home's sale price when it's used specifically on the front door and buyers prefer black front doors. More earthy tones were found most appealing to buyers in relation to the bathroom.Now while paint colors may not seem like that big of a deal in the grand scheme of selling a home, these findings show that it's definitely worth paying attention to these trends if you want to tack on few more dollar signs.

Here are some of the Zillow stats:

• Homes with a charcoal gray kitchen can sell for an estimated $2,512 more than similar homes, while a dark gray living room can command offers of $1,755 more. 
• A white kitchen can hurt a home's sale price by more than $600.
• Dark gray in the living room and bedroom outperformed pale neutrals, with the potential to command offers of at least $1,755 more. 
• Buyers would offer an estimated $3,365 less for a home with a cement gray front door.
• Bathrooms painted a trendy terra-cotta brown, could help a home sell for $1,624 more than similar homes.

“Paint is a relatively affordable and easy change, yet it has an outsize impact on a buyer’s perception of the home,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert, in the press release. “People don’t buy homes every day, so they’re trying to quickly process a lot of complex information in an area where they don’t have a lot of experience. That uncertainty is likely why buyers rely on color as a powerful visual signal that a home is modern and up-to-date, or tired and needs maintenance. That first impression contributes to their overall feelings about a home and ultimately, how much they’re willing to pay for it.” 

Of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What do you prefer a white kitchen or moody gray?