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- New_Englander
- Contributions:60
It definitely depends on where you live. In my area, many houses are white clapboard with black shutters. This is a very traditional color scheme, and I am in a historic area. My house is white with black shutters and a red front door, and I prefer this over any actual color for the siding. I am largely turned off by colored houses.
In another region of the country, the answer, along with the common architectural styles (each of which are best suited to certain color schemes) would be completely different.
In another region of the country, the answer, along with the common architectural styles (each of which are best suited to certain color schemes) would be completely different.
- SoCal_Engr
- Contributions:5661
"My thought on this is Yellow, There was a actual study done on this subject and Yellow was the elected color"
Kind of a "and what was the demographic for that study?" statement. I don't see any yellow houses in the area I live - unless I drive at least 10 miles to some older neighborhoods.
Kind of a "and what was the demographic for that study?" statement. I don't see any yellow houses in the area I live - unless I drive at least 10 miles to some older neighborhoods.
- Jeff Lurie, "Jeff Lurie"
- Contributions:2
There have been a lot of great tips posted here. One thing we need to caution our sellers on, however, is that they need to reference the Architectural Design guidelines provided by their homeowner's association (if applicable) before they go ahead and make a drastic color change. The last thing you want to be responsible for as an agent is to tell your client that they just spent all that money and time just to have to change it back!
- CulverCityRealtor
- Contributions:455
Neutrals...Stay with them.
- Julie Adams, "REALTOR JULIE ADAMS"
- Contributions:7
My thought on this is Yellow, There was a actual study done on this subject and Yellow was the elected color
- Sarah Heath, "NorthSeattleSarah"
- Contributions:37
I agree that its generally good to stay with neutral colors and blend in with the other homes on the street. However, in many neighborhoods in Seattle, I've seen some incredibly odd, stand-out colors that are absolutely beautiful (in Green Lake, for instance, there's a lavender house I often see that is stunning, I'd never change it for anything). I've also seen lots of bright blues, greens and yellows work well on the common craftsman style homes, especially if there's a colorful garden to match and a bright white trim to stand out. So, I think the answer really depends on the home, neighborhood and style. Seattle isn't known for being particularly "cookie-cutter" with their homes!
- Carmen Brodeur, "Scottsdale AZ"
- Contributions:1035
In Scottsdale, darker colors are definitely more attractive to buyers. The typical white or light colors just scream 1980's. Darker taupes are much more modern and give the home a fresh updated look.
- Jackie Beardsley, "Listingforless"
- Contributions:163
Well it can depend on where you live. All markets are local and can be very different from each other. I bought my own home with a color so bad I didn't even want to see the inside but once inside realized this was my home and bought it. The exterior was very dark brown with dark brown trim and it looked awful. However, this is a desireable area and it was a different time so that made a difference.
Sometimes you can do a fantastic job with the landscaping by taking down large overgrown bushes and putting some nice small attractive ones in front with mulch. Then paint the trim only in a very nice color that will compliment the home. Any paint store can help you choose colors. Even the front door can be painted to help create a focal point for the home.
I personally would try this first. Exterior painting is expensive and it may not have anything to do with the features your home has to offer which will be the factor in getting an offer.
Hope this helps!
Sometimes you can do a fantastic job with the landscaping by taking down large overgrown bushes and putting some nice small attractive ones in front with mulch. Then paint the trim only in a very nice color that will compliment the home. Any paint store can help you choose colors. Even the front door can be painted to help create a focal point for the home.
I personally would try this first. Exterior painting is expensive and it may not have anything to do with the features your home has to offer which will be the factor in getting an offer.
Hope this helps!
- Angelica Blatt, "angelicablatt"
- Contributions:129
I think so! If the paint is in bad condition or screaming an aweful color it may be difficult for potential buyers to get past it. And if they do, when they write an offer, probably it will be somewhat based on the memory of the condition of the paint or the loud color. All they will be thinking is how much will it cost to repait?
- droopyd
- Contributions:403
We once bought a house painted Pepto pink, but as a condition of the sale we had them paint it green to blend in better with the foliage.
- Karla Wagner, "karlaw"
- Contributions:151
Yes, it does. Always stay neutral. I will also make mention that interior colors play a part on a home's salability, so stay neutral inside the home as well.
- Jill Banks, "Happily Better After"
- Contributions:35
In the current real estate market, you have to be very strategic about the improvements you make. Contact a professional home stager familiar with your area to find out what changes will give you the most bang for your buck. A good stager can recommend the paint colors, finishes, and other updates that buyers want, and are willing to pay for.
Good luck!
Good luck!
- wno
- Contributions:3
Thank you all very much! To follow up on Jill's comment, if I have $5,000 to spend on the interior, what should I spend it on to increase the resale value of the Seattle home (by hopefully much more than $5k)? Thanks again. This is an awesome forum!
- Sharon Lewis, "Sharon Lewis"
- Contributions:3914
What a terrific question....to be on the safe side, neutral, tans. But the door, you can have your aha moment there, yellow doors do well.
Go into a paint store like Benjamin Moore, they do a lot of research on trends and ask them what the new color is.....
Go into a paint store like Benjamin Moore, they do a lot of research on trends and ask them what the new color is.....
- Jill Banks, "Happily Better After"
- Contributions:35
Bold or unusual exterior color can negatively affect a home's sale price, because buyers will want to re-paint, which would cost them money. Drive around your neighborhood and see what the five most popular exterior colors are; then pick your favorite. Just don't choose the same color as either of your next-door neighbors so your house will stand out from theirs.
Otherwise, specific exterior color has relatively little affect on a home's price; the condition of the interior is much more significant.
Otherwise, specific exterior color has relatively little affect on a home's price; the condition of the interior is much more significant.
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21429
White is not so popular here. Many shades of brown are much more popular. Some creme colors if they are colonial style structures. Some deep Olive green. Some yellow. Some slate gray. In general, earth tones, but many Spanish style structures have shades in the peach range, as well as tans and khakis.
The nicer houses are not all one color, but use two trim colors in addition to the major wall color. They do need to compliment.
Google street views are really nice for getting a feel for the home colors in a neighborhood or on a street, and for what color schemes work with specific architectural styles.
For an eclectic variety of styles and time periods, Pasadena provides a good cross section, and they are mixed in the neighborhoods almost like it was a salad bowl. Consistency is provided by the Zoning code with such issues as setbacks & height limits; and by the city owned parkstrip trees with each segment of street having a designated "tree", or perhaps two designated trees (species).
The nicer houses are not all one color, but use two trim colors in addition to the major wall color. They do need to compliment.
Google street views are really nice for getting a feel for the home colors in a neighborhood or on a street, and for what color schemes work with specific architectural styles.
For an eclectic variety of styles and time periods, Pasadena provides a good cross section, and they are mixed in the neighborhoods almost like it was a salad bowl. Consistency is provided by the Zoning code with such issues as setbacks & height limits; and by the city owned parkstrip trees with each segment of street having a designated "tree", or perhaps two designated trees (species).
- Dean Lob, "Pacific Platinum"
- Contributions:36
The color of a home plays a big part in its marketability. Pale is the number one color - a very neutral color indeed. Overall, lighter white and gray colors seem to have the greatest attraction to buyers. There are certainly colors to stay away from. Especially some color combinations that would turn buyers away.
- Todd Kaufman, "tmk1070"
- Contributions:1
Sticking with neutral colors is always the safest bet.
- Rhonda Aflakian, "Rhonda theRealtor"
- Contributions:170
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I'd suggest looking at the surrounding colors. What color are the plants, the neighboring houses.
What color is the roof and the trim. Use some paint swabs and hold those up to the house to see what the color looks like in natural light, not just in the paint store. Good Luck!!
I'd suggest looking at the surrounding colors. What color are the plants, the neighboring houses.
What color is the roof and the trim. Use some paint swabs and hold those up to the house to see what the color looks like in natural light, not just in the paint store. Good Luck!!
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25120
My vote on many houses is a clean khaki color for the body and a white trim that is bright enough to "pop" without being too stark. Although there are a few roof colors that do not look good with that combination, they're aren't many. You do need to avoid any khaki colors with a pink/red undertone. They fade and look terrible in a short time.
It may be a little boring, but very few people hate khaki and it looks good on many different house styles. If you want to jazz it up a little, you can choose a jewel tone for the front door to draw the eye and plant some colorful flowers to compliment it.
It may be a little boring, but very few people hate khaki and it looks good on many different house styles. If you want to jazz it up a little, you can choose a jewel tone for the front door to draw the eye and plant some colorful flowers to compliment it.
- Bob and CJ Jenkins, "Bob and CJ Jenkins"
- Contributions:2
The roof and the exterior paint need to complement each other. Unless you are going to replace the roof with new material, then you are stuck with that color as the key to your overall color scheme. Muted, pastel, conservative colors are always safest.
- Cheryl Corrente, "ccorrente"
- Contributions:96
Just like the age old comment about "Real Estate is local", exterior paint color can also be somewhat local. It is always a good idea to drive around your own area and actually see which homes you think look appealing, and although everyone's taste is different, I find that exterior paint colors can go in trends so make sure you are sticking with the "updated" look.
- Veronique Durney, "Veronique Durney"
- Contributions:3
To wno:
Yes, the color of the exterior paint greatly affect the sale of a house. No matter where you are located. The first impression is often the most rimportant one. Think about it. Would you want to go visit a house knowing that you already don't like the exterior much? Not too many buyers would.
Hope this help :)
Yes, the color of the exterior paint greatly affect the sale of a house. No matter where you are located. The first impression is often the most rimportant one. Think about it. Would you want to go visit a house knowing that you already don't like the exterior much? Not too many buyers would.
Hope this help :)
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21429
- Pasadenan
- Contributions:21429
Zillow's database also doesn't included building materials nor view. Nor could some of those issues be easily quantified.
Even the MLS doesn't have specifics on those issues.
It certainly would be interesting for someone to write a computer program to use the MicroSoft Bing bird's eye views to extract the RGB color numbers for houses and trim and roof... automatically. One would also have to compensate for lighting shadows. One should arrive at about 6 sets of numbers. And then automatically look up the Pantone color names (from about 2000 names) and the saturation level.
As already mentioned, I'm sure you would not find much correlation with price except where colors specifically lower values. But it still would be interesting to see statistical distribution of color selections.
Pantone has to adjust their color names and definitions each year to accommodate the new designer colors for the year.
Many people think the designer color name sells the color more than the actual definition of the color.
And while two colors may look identical under one lighting condition; a change of light source may make what appeared to be the same colors look substantially different.
Even the MLS doesn't have specifics on those issues.
It certainly would be interesting for someone to write a computer program to use the MicroSoft Bing bird's eye views to extract the RGB color numbers for houses and trim and roof... automatically. One would also have to compensate for lighting shadows. One should arrive at about 6 sets of numbers. And then automatically look up the Pantone color names (from about 2000 names) and the saturation level.
As already mentioned, I'm sure you would not find much correlation with price except where colors specifically lower values. But it still would be interesting to see statistical distribution of color selections.
Pantone has to adjust their color names and definitions each year to accommodate the new designer colors for the year.
Many people think the designer color name sells the color more than the actual definition of the color.
And while two colors may look identical under one lighting condition; a change of light source may make what appeared to be the same colors look substantially different.
- Cristopher Crozier, "Criss Crozier"
- Contributions:63
Good question! Good answers as well. I dont have much to add but definitely get several local opinions before you paint. Your starting on the right foot! GL!
- wetdawgs
- Contributions:26784
Zillow's database doesn't include exterior paint color.
- wno
- Contributions:3
Thank you everyone - they're all really good answers! But zillow has such a large database, so I wonder if anyone run a regression on zillow's Seattle database for completed sales using neighborhood, number of rooms, exterior paint color, building materials, view, year built, as independent variables? ...Thank you very much!
- Mary Jane Goss, "Mary Jane Goss"
- Contributions:64
As the cost of hiring someone to paint a house can be a costly venture, and something most folks seldom undertake, I can understand your concern. Paint color can help sell a house, or, it can make a sale more difficult, but, my opinion, is paint color isn't as important as the entire visual package on the property. In other words, your aim should be improving the "curb appeal", and evaluating the cost benefit of painting versus something else, which might raise the value from a buyer's perspective. In the present market, buyer's are not only looking for
good value (meaning a great price coupled with great features), but also how the price appears to give them some feeling of safety, when they ask themselves, "If I lose my job tomorrow, could I sell this house, and not lose my shirt?" Also remember, no matter which color is chosen, the quality of the paint job, can also affect price, as it reflects on the care the seller has taken with the property. In other words, if there is a careless paint job, and a buyer perceives it will take a pretty penney undertaking the task of repainting the house in a way which will make the investment last, a buyer may just pass, or wait until the price gets adjusted, before they make an offer.
- Josh Foster, "Josh Foster"
- Contributions:9
Be careful - aesthetic questions like yours can't be answered objectively by people who haven't actually seen the house. If you aren't certain what color will add value to your house, then ask a friend or neighbor who is not too flaky to stand in front of it and tell you what color comes to mind. Definitely get a second or third opinion. I know a powerful color combination can add tremendous value to an already marketable home, and might even contribute directly to a speedy sale and a favorable price for you.
Does the color of exterior paint affect a house's sale price? Which color fetches the hi-est price?
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