Painting a house before selling can often boost the price of your house.
If you are asking yourself, “Should I paint my house before selling it?” chances are, the answer is a resounding "yes." According to home improvement expert Bob Vila, “Even if your house is relatively new or has been painted in the last 5 years, it can definitely benefit from a fresh coat of paint.” This is especially true if your paint is flaking, peeling, scuffed, or showing similar signs of wear and tear. In this article, we’ll explain what research data has to say, what colors to paint with, and how painting makes a difference.
How does painting make a difference when selling a house?
- Improved appearance: One of the benefits of painting a house before selling it is what a drastic difference it can make to the look of your house. A fresh coat of paint on the exterior and interior of your home can make it look cleaner, brighter, and more inviting.
- Well maintained: A newly painted house looks like it’s been well maintained, and potential buyers are impressed with that. People perceive that the house has been lovingly cared for by its owners and is in great shape.
- Possible faster sale: Houses that look taken care of and are visually pleasing attract more buyers and often sell faster.
- Competitive edge: When house shopping, people compare houses that they visit. A freshly painted house stands out and can give you an advantage in the competitive housing market.
- Negotiating power: If your property is freshly painted and looks well maintained and attractive, you’re more likely to get your asking price.
What does the data say?
Wondering whether investing in a fresh coat of paint is worth it? Let's dive into the data.
In a HomeLight survey of over 1,000 top real estate agents nationwide, “on average, fresh paint adds an estimated $7,571 in resale value for a 152% ROI. Considering that the average price to paint the entire exterior of a home is around $3,000 it could be well worth the investment.” A recent Zillow survey found that 40% of home sellers paint the inside of their house before listing it.
The chairwoman of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals, Jennie Norris, stated that "[Painting] is the least expensive investment for the biggest return,” and Consumer Reports says that painting your home’s exterior can raise the value of your house by 2% to 5%.
Should you paint your walls white before selling your Atlanta house?
Standard advice from real estate agents and staging companies is to paint your walls white, or an off-white/neutral color before putting your house on the market. You can’t go wrong with this advice. However, a recent report has come up with some interesting insights.
According to Consumer Reports, “Zillow examined photos from more than 32,000 home sales around the country to analyze how room colors correlated with selling prices. It found that some colors could help buyers to make a premium of more than $5,000 on the sale of their homes, while other colors could actually depress the selling price.” What they discovered may surprise you:
- Bedroom: Light green or khaki color can raise the selling price by around $1,332.
- Kitchen: The study concluded that white paint in the kitchen doesn’t raise the price, but “Homes with yellow kitchens sell for an average premium of $1,360 when compared with all other homes controlled for similar features.” The yellows are soft shades, not bold.
- Living room: Zillow’s research states that the worst color you can paint your living room is orange, and the best colors are whites and dove grey.
- Bathroom: Beige, oatmeal, or tans are popular colors for this room.
- Dining room: Surprisingly, shades of purple such as mauve or lavender were favored over other colors.
Costs for professional house painting in Atlanta
An exterior paint job on an Atlanta clapboard house is a huge undertaking, involving power washing, scraping, caulking, replacing rotten boards, priming, then painting. This sort of job should probably be hired out, as it is labor intensive and takes a long time. You can save money by painting doors and exterior trim yourself.
As the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out, “It will cost an average $5,200 to paint the exterior of a 2,000 square-foot home, according to This Old House. That number, however, can vary by up to an additional $7,000, depending on the number of floors of the home and a number of other factors. In the end, exterior home painting generally costs anywhere from $1 to $4 per square foot of space.” According to the same source, it costs an average of $2 to $6 per square foot for professional interior painting. Interior painting can often be done by the homeowners over several weekends.
Tips for DIY interior house painting
If you decide to paint the inside of the house yourself, you’ll need water-based interior paint, paint brushes, rollers, trays, drop cloths, and blue painter’s tape to tape things off. YouTube has some great tutorials on preparing your surfaces for painting, such as patching holes, using caulk, and applying primers on walls and ceilings with stains.
According to home improvement expert Bob Vila, “On average, a gallon of interior latex paint costs between $15 and $60.” Although there are fun effects for interior surfaces, such as painting a ceiling with highly reflective paint, painting to sell should be straightforward and traditional. Ceilings should be painted with flat paint, walls with eggshell, bathroom walls in satin. Paint trim and doors with gloss paint.
Sell your house without painting.
We Buy Ugly Houses® purchases houses in Atlanta “as is,” meaning you don’t have to paint, make any repairs, or even clean. If you’re asking yourself, “Should I paint the walls before selling my house?” but decide you’d rather skip the hassle and expense, choose We Buy Ugly Houses as your off-market home buyer.
Simply contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation at your house. One of our local, friendly property buyers will meet you, take a tour of your property and answer your questions. We can sometimes give you an offer the same day. If you accept our offer, we can work with you to figure out a quick closing schedule that works for your selling timeline.
We’ve been helping homeowners in Atlanta sell their houses for years. We have a great reputation with an amazing 95%* customer satisfaction rating nationwide among sellers who responded to our post-sale survey. We have no hidden fees, charge no commissions, and pay typical closing costs. Our offers are typically below market value in exchange for speed and convenience. Contact us to learn more!
