I recently put my own home on the market, and whether paint colors could affect the value of the property was forefront of my mind. The first viewing, an older couple, took one look at the – shall we say polarizing – living room painted in a rich, dark brown (Cola, by Farrow and Ball) and couldn't get over how it. The word 'dark' dancing through their minds in every other light-filled room they entered.
'Is this room a bit dark, too?' she would ask, stepping into a pale green home office. Then another buyer fell in love with the color, and went onto make an offer. Not because of the color exactly, but she did say 'I have the same paint at home and could move into this right away.
' So, in an unpredictable and unknowable way, I had to conclude that yes, did affect the value. But what do the experts think? Are there any hard and fast rules, any colors that should definitely be avoided? 'Yes they can, they do!' says , a broker-owner with Century 21 Real Estate on the West Coast. 'Paint colors really do affect the value of a home.
They're the first thing people see, the first impression, they set the tone and speak of the character of the home. They tell people what the home represents.' Brandi Snowden, Director of Member and Consumer Survey Research at the National Association of Realtors (NAR), agrees - though slightly less emphatically.
'I think something more neutral would be the easiest for buyers to visualize having their own color on the walls,' says. 'I think something.