Paint the Front Door

When is a quick and inexpensive paint job worth $6,271?

Painting an entire house? That’s an expensive project that takes a lot of time. On the oth*-er hand, Keller Williams The Trembley Group Real Estate Professionals know from experience that painting the front door will give a house a fresh, new look in an afternoon. But the perfect paint color on the right part of a home can net thousands of dollars, while the wrong shade can cost big.

So, when is a quick and cheap paint job worth $6,271? According to the 2018 Paint Color Analysis on Zillow’s website, when the paint color is black and when it’s applied to a front door. The analysis was based on an examination of more than 135,000 photos of sold homes around the U.S. According to the website’s study, on average, houses with black front doors sold for an average of $6,271 more than homes with white front doors. Shades include charcoal and anywhere from smoky black to rich jet black.

In total, the materials for painting the front door — including painter’s tape, paint brushes, primer, and top-quality paint — should cost well under $100. For a $6,271 increase in value? Not a bad return on investment.

Other Paint Jobs That Increase Home Sale Prices

According to Kerrie Kelly, a home design expert at Zillow, “For a seller, painting a front door is one the least expensive home prep projects, but also one that can have a powerful impact on a home’s sale price.” While no other combination of paint color and area will give as large of return as a black front door, she noted three other painting projects that significantly increased home sale prices.

• Light taupe living rooms, on average, will increase a home’s value by $2,793. This could mean a warm tan with pink or peach undertones, or accent walls with darker peach to pink undertones.

• Light blue bathrooms will increase a home’s value on average by $2,786. A popular blue shade is periwinkle blue, often with a gray-blue tint.

• “Tuxedo” kitchen cabinets everyone likes an upgraded kitchen and tuxedo cabinets can increase a home’s value by $1,547. Tuxedo cabinets are light-colored upper cabinets paired with black or dark navy lower cabinets. Often time, there can be an added contrast just by painting the wall a lighter color. 

Zillow also identified three combinations of colors and home areas that decrease sale prices.

Paint Colors That Can Decrease Value

• Yellow exteriors sell for an average of $3,408 less. According to Zillow’s website, “this includes anywhere from creamy bright yellow to flax yellow as well as warm yellow with brown undertones.”

• Red kitchens will cost a home seller $2,310 less on average. This includes any red from brick or barn red to a lighter raspberry red.

• Brown dining rooms will cost a home seller $1,684. Oat brown to medium sandy brown, as well as brown with yellowish undertones may be an expense for the seller.

Need help? Call Keller Williams The Trembley Group at 843.945.1880 ext. 1 and we’ll help you look for the perfect listing or buyers agent!

At Keller Williams The Trembley Group, we pride ourselves on being the experts at more than just selling real estate. We are local residents, some of us have been here for a lifetime. The rest of us will be here until the end of time. We love living, working, and playing in the diverse backyard of Coastal Carolina, and look forward to helping you live and love your dreams soon too. Please reach out to us by phone or email for personalized service and one-on-one advice. 

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Our agents write often to give you the latest insights on owning a home or property in the Myrtle Beach, SC area.