What Are the Best Paint Color for Selling a House

Painting to sell a firm involves a very different set of considerations and goals than general painting projects.

When selling, the name of the game is speed, savings, and making the home appeal to as wide an audience as possible.

✍️ Why you should trust us

There are countless "how to paint your house to sell" guides out at that place full of impractical, full general painting communication and arbitrary information that can lead you down the incorrect path.

This guide is dissimilar. We read books, talked to real estate experts, and did extensive inquiry to dribble the most important painting principles and tips specifically for home sellers.

Read on to detect the all-time interior and exterior paint colors to sell a house, how to make the right choice for different styles of rooms and homes, and practical cost saving tips and tricks.

Nevertheless, before y'all dive into a major painting project, it'southward best to consult with an experienced realtor. They can tell you what improvements and repairs will make your home more appealing to buyers, and aid you avert wasting coin on projects that won't add value to your home.

Need help finding a great local realtor? Clever can help! Clever is a costless service that matches you with handpicked agents in your local market from trusted brokerages like Berkshire Hathaway and Keller Williams.

Clever as well negotiates depression commission rates of 1% or $3,000 for you lot, so you can sell your house with a top local agent — and get incredible savings too!

» More: Find your perfect agent, save thousands on realtor fees!

Should I pigment my house before selling?

Information technology'south near always a good idea to paint before you sell your house, assuming your timeline and budget let for it.

Painting is relatively cheap and makes a big impact on your ability to concenter interest to your dwelling.

Interior and exterior pigment jobs are quite unlike, so they'll need to be considered separately.

Interior paint jobs are usually cheaper because they're fairly simple, and y'all may only have to pigment a couple of rooms.
Exterior paint jobs are normally more than expensive because of their size and complexity, which ofttimes means that doing it yourself is out of the question.

Nosotros've broken downwards some of the most common reasons for repainting a firm before selling.

Reasons to consider repainting your home'due south interior	Reasons to consider repainting your domicile'south outside
Lots of dark colors, inconsistent colour schemes, assuming emphasis walls » More Visible scuffs, holes, writing, stains, and cracks » More Noticeable odors from pets, cigarette smoke, etc. » More Older dwelling with outdated design scheme and fixtures (cabinets, counters, etc.) » More than	Faded or worn paint due to exposure to the elements (typically after 7-ten years) » More Outdated exterior colour scheme (trends typically modify every 10-20 years) » More than Visible cracking paint, mildew, broken siding, and other exterior damage » More

Evidently, every seller's situation is different. Sometimes yous can avert painting fifty-fifty if 1 or more of the above items apply.

For example, in some areas, contest amid buyers is and so steep that almost homes sell within days of being listed — whether they've been painted or not.

In cooler markets, where buyers take their pick of the litter, y'all'll need to exercise everything you can to make your habitation stand up out. In these cases, not painting may put yous at a competitive disadvantage and brand your home harder to sell.

Best interior paint colors to sell a house in 2021

✍️ Best interior paint colors for: Walls | Ceiling | Trim

Dwelling sellers should almost ever opt for calorie-free and neutral tones similar beige, grey, and off-white.

These colors might seem a little tedious, only remember why yous're painting:

You're trying to entreatment to the widest possible audience, not your own tastes!

Night, vibrant, or inconsistent schemes make homes experience smaller, stuffier, and less inviting. They also impede the buyers' ability to insert themselves — i.e., their belongings and tastes — into the infinite.

In contrast, light color schemes brand your abode feel open and spacious — like a "bare canvas" for prospective buyers

Additionally, having fewer complicated design decisions to deal with streamlines the unabridged process. Fast and easy is the proper noun of the game when you're selling.

Hottest interior colors in 2021

These are the "hottest" colors right at present according to Consumer Reports ^[1] but have them with a grain of salt as a home seller.

You might want to take the trendy approach if you already take a modern abode, merely in most cases, following our tried-and-true advice volition be the most efficient approach for selling.

Opt for a simple 3-color pigment scheme

About interior pigment jobs consist of 3 major components:

Walls
Ceiling
Trim

Of course, at that place are all sorts of cool, design-y means to approach your interior color scheme. As painful as it is to say, avoid the temptation to exist creative!

As a seller, you want to keep your interior as unproblematic as humanly possible. This will save you lot fourth dimension and coin — AND maximize your abode's appeal.

We recommend employing a simple, 3-color scheme considering information technology'southward cheap, it's easy to pull off, and information technology looks great in just almost whatever room.

Simple three-color scheme for selling a dwelling house
Walls	Apartment beige, off-white, or light grey
Ceiling	Flat "ceiling white"
Trim	Semi-gloss vivid white

Three-color paint scheme

Of grade, the above scheme is a proposition, not a hard-and-fast dominion. Always consider the unique characteristics of your home before you choose your scheme or approach.

The specifics of your interior paint job will be influenced past a number of factors, including:

The current wall color
Your budget
Your timeline for painting
The layout of your rooms

Talk to the experts at your local pigment store or attain out to a few local contractors for communication.

These professionals take a ton of applied experience and will likely be able to recommend a specific arroyo to fit your timeframe and budget.

All-time paint colors for walls

Walls make up the largest surface area of whatever room. Stick with lite, neutral tones — retrieve white, beige, gray, etc. — to keep the space feeling open and airy.

We recommend opting for flat or semi-gloss finishes, as they're typically less expensive than high-gloss paint and do a meliorate job of hiding imperfections in the surfaces of your walls.

High-gloss and eggshell tend to be more durable than flatter finishes, but don't lose sight of the goal:

You lot're painting to sell!

It really only has to wait good for a few months — and the heir-apparent may do some repainting later moving in anyway, to personalize their new habitation.

All-time pigment colors for ceilings

Flat-white paint is the become-to selection for ceilings for several reasons:

Inexpensive
Hides imperfections
Makes the ceiling feel higher

Even if you're thinking the ceilings look "ok," information technology probably makes sense to go ahead and repaint them anyhow, forth with your walls.

When you paint the walls but not the ceilings, it tin make them look tired in contrast, and they'll stick out like a sore thumb.

Moreover, ceiling paint is cheap, painting ceilings is relatively piece of cake, and doing so gives y'all a chance to comprehend any pigment marks that may have been left backside when y'all were rolling your walls.

Best trim colors

When information technology comes to interior trim, nosotros recommend "semi-gloss white" for nearly every situation.

A sleeky sheen will "pop" confronting the backdrop of a matte wall, adding involvement to the room without being likewise pushy or overbearing.

While semi-gloss white is certainly the well-nigh conventional and popular choice, at that place are situations in which it makes sense to devious slightly from the beaten path.

For example, a room with pure white walls might benefit from the slight contrast of an off-white or even grey trim.

Trim likewise comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes, from three-inch baseboard to 36-inch chair rails to crown molding.

An extra splash of color may be more appropriate on trim with detailed carvings or routed edges.

Again, semi-gloss white is commonly a safety bet, but talk to your agent or painter for more specific advice.

Interior cost considerations

Interior painting projects typically toll effectually $1,000-3,000, although the cost of repainting the entire interior of a home with a contractor could run equally high as $4,000-11,000 depending on your home size and pigment quality.^[2] The average cost drops to most $i,800 if you lot cull to go the DIY route.

Of class, the full cost of the project will vary considerably based on a number of factors, including the:

Size of the house
Number of rooms that need to exist painted
Complexity of the chore (only walls vs. walls, ceiling, and trim)

Painting the habitation yourself might look better on newspaper, but when yous're selling, it'due south usually not the best selection.

When yous're painting a business firm to sell, the two almost of import things are speed and quality.

Professional painters are going to become the job done faster and make it look great. Every bit skilled equally you think you are, trust us — they're better.

Believe information technology or non, there are some cost benefits as well to hiring a pro besides. Painters can help you relieve on materials via their contractor accounts, which can commencement some of the labor costs.

Plus, professionals volition do the job right the starting time fourth dimension (most DIY paint jobs involve mistakes and purchasing more materials to fix said mistakes).

The simplest way to reduce labor costs is doing some prep piece of work yourself in advance, since most painters charge by the hour.

By moving all of the article of furniture out of the way, for instance, you relieve your painters time when they show up to work.

Want to save coin when you sell your home? There'due south an easier way than digging out your pigment overalls and trying to do the prep piece of work yourself.

Clever negotiates huge discounts with acme real manor agents at trusted brokerages in your area. Clever's free service matches yous with agents handpicked for your unique state of affairs, so you can find the perfect realtor AND save thousands on commission.

Interior painting tips and tricks for home sellers

Repainting dark rooms with calorie-free colors

Dark and/or inconsistent paint schemes can ofttimes make rooms — or your entire house — feel stuffy and cramped.

To mask nighttime colors, lay downwards i to two coats of primer before applying lite paint. This will ensure that the dark color does not bleed through to the tiptop coat.

» We recommend: Kilz Original Interior Primer

Making an old house look modern

Forest grain cabinets, linoleum floors, and other features can make an quondam house look out of date.

Simple touches like painting dated kitchen cabinets white tin can transform the appearance of an onetime house.

» Nosotros recommend: Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations

Getting rid of unpleasant odors

Unpleasant odors such as cigarette smoke can seep into your walls and become a huge turnoff to potential buyers.

At that place are special paints that yous can apply to smelly walls to lock in bad odors before laying down your top glaze.

» Nosotros recommend: Kilz Restoration Interior Primer

Painting on a tight timeline

Yous may desire to listing your house as soon as possible, only y'all realize that information technology needs to exist painted speedily before listing photos are taken.

Get an all-in-one paint and primer that dries apace so that you lot tin save time and minimize prep work.

» We recommend: ColorPlace Ultra Interior Pigment + Primer

Fixing stained, cracked or peeling paint

With time, paint tin can go stained past spills or start to crack and pare.

Minor patches can be repaired with spackling, simply more than extensive repairs volition probably require you to hire a handyman who can replace drywall earlier priming and painting.

» Nosotros recommend: Dap DryDex

Best outside paint colors to sell a house

✍️ Best exterior pigment colors for: Different dwelling house styles | Siding | Trim | Accents

Slapping a fresh coat of paint on a abode's exterior — particularly if it's a bit older — is a corking way to increment its curb appeal and attract more interest from prospective buyers.

While the general rule of thumb for interiors is "keep it lite and neutral," choosing a primary colour for the exterior is largely based on three factors:

Latest color trends in your area
The style of home being sold
Outside materials and features

Hottest outside colors in 2021

Consumer Reports' color picks are a skillful barometer for general trends and tastes^[3], but the all-time pick will depend on your home'due south style, exterior materials, and features.

What way of domicile are you selling?


Victorian Victorian homes were designed to create a dramatic dissimilarity with brilliant colors like yellows, reds, oranges, and pinks. While white trim is traditional, contrasting trim colors are adequate if you want to add together some popular.	Mid-century modernistic Mid-century mod houses are nearly balancing natural and design-y elements. Consider using accents that pop against natural materials, like orangish or bright green confronting a stone or brick facade.	Greatcoat Cod Effort to go on things simple and traditional. Expert Cape Cod colors include soft white, grays, light dejection, or neutral sand tones. Trim is usually white, simply yous tin can boost the dynamics past adding shutters with earthy tones like forest greenish or ocean blue.	Ranch-style home Ranch-fashion homes are best with rich, warm world tones similar brown or beige. Natural materials are usually built into the exterior of a ranch, so creating dissimilarity isn't as much of a concern. Y'all tin can play upwards natural tones in brick or stone by complimentary bawdy tones like forest green. For a more modernistic bear on, add a bold accent like a bright red front door.	Bungalow For a bungalow, stick to classic colors similar white, grey, or taupe for a timeless wait. Nonetheless, if you want to modernize the exterior, try deep blue, sage light-green, or xanthous. As a general rule, create dissimilarity with trim elements by choosing dark trim for light siding, and vice versa.	Tudor Tudor-style houses go best with traditional colors like white, dark brown, and blackness. With the unique Tudor design, contrasting trim is not the norm. Instead, choose night, woods-like trim colors, or utilise nighttime blues or dark grays for a slightly more modern touch on. A bright light-green accent door tin be a great emphasis that really pops against the stucco or brick of a Tudor house.

Picking an exterior color scheme

Repainting an exterior is well-nigh never every bit simple as choosing a single color and blasting the whole thing with a spray gun.

You'll take to choose a scheme that accounts for all of the different pattern and structural features of the home and ties them together.

Virtually exterior paint jobs consist of at to the lowest degree three core components:

Siding
Trim
Accents (doors, shutters, etc.)

Below, we've compiled some general considerations and tips for how to approach each component individually, and as a whole.

Siding colors depend on the home's style and materials

Your siding selection will largely depend on two factors:

Your domicile's style
The siding materials

As a general rule, traditional siding materials like wood look all-time with traditional colors, similar white, blue, ruby, so on.

More modern siding materials, such as physical, metal, and vinyl, often pair best with modernistic tones, like light grays and tans — simply you can get fifty-fifty edgier with darker colors like black and gunmetal grayness (of course, make clean white with black trim is a slick expect as well).

Looking for inspiration? Caput online to check out other listings in your area that are the aforementioned style as your home. This volition provide some inspiration and be a good indicator for what's trending in your area right now.

Use trim to add contrast and interest (or tone information technology downwardly)

Typically, the purpose of painting trim is to emphasize the architectural features of your dwelling house's exterior and create a noticeable contrast with your siding.

The general rule is to pair night siding with light trim, and vice versa.

Of class, at that place are some notable exceptions.

For instance, a more modern, minimalist home with understated trim elements may be better off with nighttime trim that only creates a subtle contrast.

Some historic homes — peculiarly Victorian-manner homes — often use bright trim colors to raise their unique character and make ornate architectural features pop.

Choose accents to suit your tastes and style of home

Choosing the right colors for accents — shutters, doors, etc. — depends on your habitation'due south siding and trim colors, as well as your desired visual effect.

If yous're going for a more traditional, understated wait, we recommend either matching your accents to your trim — or, if you lot actually want them to fade to the background, with your siding.

Choose traditional, understated tones, such as grays, whites, and other world-tones, that add slight contrast and interest without ruffling whatsoever feathers.

That said, accents can also be a great opportunity for adding a splash of color to an otherwise muted habitation.

Blues, reds, and greens tin look great — particularly with light siding and natural exteriors like brick, stone, and raw forest.

Should I pigment my door a brilliant, "fun" color?

Opting for a funky, "non-traditional" door color — cherry red, heaven blue, lime light-green, mustard yellow, etc. — is quite trendy these days. It can certainly add together interest to your habitation's exterior, but it too could plow off some prospective buyers.

Whether an "out-there" front end door colour is a skillful thought really depends on your home'south style and target audience. We recommend speaking to your agent before making any unconventional painting choices that could jeopardize your ability to sell quickly and for tiptop dollar.

Cost considerations for exterior paint jobs

Exterior paint jobs tend to be more expensive than interior jobs. A full repaint of a home's exterior costs $4,000, on boilerplate^[4].

The steep toll of exterior painting is because the scale of piece of work is typically larger and more complicated than interior painting.

For these reasons, exterior painting typically requires a professional. Doing it yourself is not recommended.

In some instances, you might exist able to go away with repainting just one of the three exterior components — your trim, siding, or accents — or touching up problem areas.

Nearly of the time, all the same, if there's an issue, you'll want to tackle it all in i get.

Exterior paint tends to fade rapidly — due to exposure from the elements — so you'll likely have a hard time getting the fresh paint to match what'south already in that location.

Moreover, the prep piece of work makes up a significant chunk of the overall toll of an exterior project. Often, painting all three exterior components isn't that much more expensive than doing one — and it makes a big difference in terms of curb appeal.

To find the best value, always get quotes from multiple, highly rated paint contractors in your area.

If y'all're planning to paint both your home'southward interior and exterior, y'all may be able to save coin and time by hiring the same contractor for both jobs.

» MORE: Compare quotes from local contractors.