By: Clever Real Estate, June 27 2018by. Updated: February 19, 2019.

For home sellers, the question of whether or not to make repairs prior to putting a house on the market is always a tricky one to answer.

That’s because you have to determine whether or not those projects will actually add more value to your home (i.e., bring in a higher offer) than they cost to complete.

If you’re considering investing in any improvements — e.g., landscaping, cleaning or replacing carpets, a new roof, etc. — it’s always a good idea to consult with an experienced, local real estate agent before pulling the trigger.

Clever partners with top-rated realtors from major brands (Century 21, RE/MAX, Coldwell Banker, etc.) who have agreed to list and sell your home for a fraction of the traditionally associated cost.

That means in addition to helping you avoid costly, low-impact repairs, they’ll help you save even more by not charging you an excessively high fee for their services.

Learn More: What Is a Low-Commission Real Estate Agent?

Repainting is one of the most common of these pre-sale improvements, namely because it’s relatively inexpensive and usually has a big impact on your ability to attract an offer quickly and at your ideal price point.

That said, painting is not always necessary. Moreover, if you go about it incorrectly — picking the wrong colors or doing a sloppy job, for example — it can end up negatively impacting your ability to sell.

So, to paint or not to paint? Here’s everything you need to know to make the right decision, given your specific situation and goals.

Should I Paint My House Before Selling?

The short of it is yes. You should paint your house before selling. But only if you want it to go for a good price. If you want to dive in a bit further and be 100% sure that you should, in fact, paint your house before you sell it, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Did you hang any pictures on the walls with nails?
Are there holes in the wall or patches on the wall that haven’t been fixed and painted over?
Is there more than one color on the walls of your house (not including white)?
Is there writing on the walls anywhere in the house?
Is there an accent wall or any murals in the house?
Have you lived in the home for over 5 years?
Are you a smoker?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you should paint your house before selling it if you want to attract a buyer.

Paint Colors That Sell Houses Faster in 2019

It may seem like the best color to paint your house to sell it is white. It’s a blank slate, right? While white is a good place to start, you want to warm up the interior of the home and help potential buyers feel like they can see themselves living there. Here are some of the best colors to paint your house in 2018.

Kitchen Colors
White kitchen updates have been all the rage recently, but they aren’t lasting. Although white kitchens seem shiny and new in pictures, they’re a headache (and arm-ache!) to keep clean. Zillow reports using gray-blues on the walls of your kitchen makes your home sell an average of $1,809 more!

Don’t just use it on the walls, either! Homes with bold accent colored cabinets– especially navy and red colored ones– sold faster and for more money than those without.

Looking for a Clever realtor to help you find the perfect color? Fill out the form below to find a full-service, 1% commission real estate agent in your area!

Bathroom Colors
Don’t think blue is just for the kitchen, either! Homes that featured light blue bathrooms sold for $5,440 more than anticipated. Do you know what that means? The nautical-themed bathroom just might be making a comeback!

Bedroom Colors
Statistics further show that rooms painted a matte soft cerulean netted an average of $1,856 more than expected. Try pairing the blue with white baseboards and stage the room with natural woods for an added appeal.

Living Room Colors
For your living rooms, get out your light beiges and gray-brown. It will help the room feel more cozy and welcoming. It also could tack on an average of $2,000 to the sale price of your home! Accent the beige with a white fireplace and baseboards for a clean, comfortable feel. You may even decide to use some natural woods to add to feel of the room.

Dining Room Colors
For the dining room, err more on the gray side of blue. It gives the room a more formal and stately feel and instantly updates the space. Dining rooms painted a bluish gray saw $1,926 more than homes with white dining rooms. As with the living room, white baseboards and furnishings will make for a clean contrast to the color of the room.

Exterior House Colors
Make sure you don’t neglect the exterior of your home, either! Paint that a color is affectionately known as “greige” or a combination of gray and beige. Homes that were painted this trendy color saw as much as $3,496 more than the expected price of the home.

Should I Paint My Front Door?

The stats say yes! A navy blue door could add as much as $1,514 to the sales price of your home. I’d say it’s worth the paint and energy exerted for sure!

The Results Are In
Blue is the color of royalty, and it seems like painting the house shades of blue will make you feel like royalty with the cash you’ll be raking in. Although it may seem like a lot of effort to paint your house on top of everything else you need to do to get your home ready to sell, it’s worth it.

Make sure you choose the right paint equipment and take note of the temperature you are painting in. If it’s too cold outside, for example, the paint will take longer to dry and could end up dripping. This will result in more work for you. If you have the budget for it, you may want to consider hiring a company to come to paint for you. This might suck up some of your added income, though, so be sure to weigh the pros and cons.

The 2019 Update: Colors to Avoid

2019 has arrived, and we’ve added several new colors you need to avoid in 2019. Know the colors Zillow reports as the most harmful to your home’s sale price.

Kitchens: Avoid yellow! Kitchens painted yellow sold for $820 less on average.

Bathrooms: It’s hard to believe, but bathrooms painted white sold for $4,035 less on average according to Zillow’s report.

Bedrooms: Many buyers need a blank canvas to imagine themselves living in a house. Bedrooms are no exception! Bedrooms painted pink sold for $208 less on average.

Dining Rooms: It’s time to paint over that red dining room. Red dining rooms sold for $2,031 less on average.

Living Rooms: Interesting enough, living rooms are the one place you want to avoid blues. Homes with blue living rooms sold for $820 less on average.