Selling a home has become more difficult recently. The inventory of homes for sale has surged in many markets, and relatively high mortgage rates have reduced affordability, giving potential buyers second thoughts.
So, home sellers are looking for any edge they can get. Something as simple as the paint color you choose for your home can boost its value — or detract from it, according to a recent analysis by Zillow.
For its analysis, the real estate marketplace surveyed over 4,400 recent and prospective homebuyers around the country and asked them to look at images of a home with interior spaces painted in one of 11 colors.
The prospective buyers then described how much they liked the home and how much interest they had in buying it. They were also asked how likely they were to tour the home and how much they would offer to pay for the property.
Zillow used those responses to give each color a score.
Paint colors that can boost home values
Four colors appear to push a home’s value higher, Zillow found. Here is how much of a boost the following paint colors can give your home:
- Chocolate brown in a bedroom: $2,277
- Pale blue in the living room: $1,723
- Charcoal gray in the kitchen: $1,373
- Sage green in a bedroom ($1,000 or more) or living room (nearly $500)
The standout of 2026 is sage green, which ranked high with buyers for the bedroom, living room and bathroom.
In a summary of the findings, Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert, says:
“Buyers today respond to homes with soul, and paint is one of the easiest, most affordable ways to add personality and character to a space. The right colors can stop a shopper mid-scroll and instantly create an emotional connection, which ultimately drives higher offers. If a seller were to repaint the top performing color in each room, they could add more than $5,000 to their bottom line.”
Paint colors that can hurt home values
By contrast, three colors may cause your home’s value to slip:
- Ochre yellow in the living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom ($18,164) or the kitchen alone ($6,630)
- Fire-hydrant red in a bathroom (nearly $8,000)
- Pale pink in the bathroom ($6,013) or kitchen ($4,201)
Overall, Zillow says sage green is the new white and a safe bet in most rooms.
Zillow also notes that “dark and moody” kitchens can deliver a strong return on investment. The data indicates that if you can only repaint one room before selling, you should make it the kitchen in charcoal gray (listed above) or dark plum, which can potentially fetch an extra $867 from a buyer.
If you plan to put your home on the market soon, make sure to steer clear of the “5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Selling Your Home.”
