Resale Paint Colors - Your Path to Sales Success!

Many of my color clients ask me, “what are the best resale paint colors for my house?”. Apart from regional preferences and requirements, I don’t believe that you can make a blanket statement like that. “Wow, you’re saying... on the downside, “that doesn’t give me any concrete answers”. On the upside though, that leaves it pretty wide open.

Rule #1...When in Rome...

You’ve got to base your decisions on the neighborhood standards. I feel that this is the number one consideration for resale. For instance, a part of Boston, Cambridge is a city which hosts Harvard University. It has many old and lovely homes. However, it would not be unusual to walk down a Cambridge street and see a stately colonial era home which was painted purple. Nor does it look out of place here as many of the homes bear distinctive coloration. Take that same colonial home and go 17 miles to the south to Milton where the suburban color standard for such a house would most likely be white, certainly never, ever purple.

I’m not suggesting that you paint your house purple to fit in, but your decision should not be at the extreme edges of acceptability.

Keep it Local for Speedy Resale...
Resale Paint Colors Rule

Second, make sure that the colors you choose are appropriate not only for neighborhood standards but for your own individual needs. The right "resale paint colors” on the wrong house are not good either. The style of your home, its size, the material it is made from, the direction it faces, and the houses to either side of you are all factors which will help you to figure out which colors are best. Can you see why it is hard to pin down “best” resale paint colors ?

Considering the locale is also a factor in having your color read authentically. If you are in Florida where the sun is bright and compounded by reflection off of water, your need for bolder color is necessary...the sun will "eat up" subtle tones such as beiges or grays...your color here must be of a higher chroma. Likewise, a rural setting surrounded by foliage will look best if choosing naturally based and muted tones...greys, greens, beiges are best here. In the desert or the high plains, we expect to see earth tones such as clays and sands. My point is always to consider the setting and then to choose accordingly.

...but Think Globally

It is not possible to isolate one item such as house color and ask it to be the driving force for resale success. The overall presentation of the house is key, the parts just can't be separated from the whole. This means that careful attention to grooming, front door color, trim color, and decoration are very important in the plan to sell your house quickly and for the best price.

As is the rule when working with color, color is always relative. That means that color is defined to some degree by influences from its surroundings. The wrong trim color accent can ruin a gorgeous body color. Everything must be in balance...don't wear sneakers with an evening gown!