The Simple Interior Trick That Could Increase Your Home's Value By Almost $7000
From renovating your entire kitchen with luxury features to updating your backyard and even demolishing walls to make a small space appear larger, there are a myriad of ways you can increase the value of your home before listing it. The problem is, these projects require time, energy and a lot of money. It’s unrealistic and leaves homeowners settling for a decreased resale value. However, according to a new study from American real estate marketplace Zillow, there’s no need to undergo major renovations - all you need is a fresh coat of paint to increase incoming offering prices on your home.
The analysis drew on survey responses from nearly 1,300 recent or prospective homebuyers, to find out which of 15 different colours used in the bathroom, kitchen and primary bedroom people were willing to spend more money on.
The results found people would pay around an extra USD $5,000 (or AUD $7,000) for the right colour painted home while conversely, the wrong hue in rooms could potentially devalue a home’s value by a few thousand dollars. (The price premiums were based on a typical home value of USD $290,000, or AUD $396,000.)
With the typical cost of repainting a room equating to approximately USD $380 (AUD $500), a fresh lick of paint is a cost-effective way of attracting homebuyers.
Here are the swatches to use in each room if you’re looking to make a positive return on investment in the future - and the ones you should probably avoid.
In the bathroom...
Zillow found the winning colour in the bathroom to be sky blue, which could bump up a home’s market value by USD $4,700 (AUD $6,400).
The same rang true in an earlier 2017 study Zillow conducted, which also found homebuyers preferred blue for their powder rooms, too.
In the kitchen...
The one colour to avoid in kitchens is mint green. The survey respondents said they’d shave about USD $1,800 (AUD $2,500) off the purchase price if a kitchen was painted in this trendy hue. Similarly, Pantone’s Colour of the Year - a sunshine yellow tint - was also snubbed by homebuyers.
Senior behavioural scientist at Zillow, Kate Rogers, said in a statement: "Our study found homebuyers may be particularly sensitive to paint colour, despite paint being a relatively easy and inexpensive change because they're navigating a complex environment with a lot of uncertainty,"
Consider playing it safe in the kitchen with warm whites, contemporary greys and cream tones.
Another observation the study found was that adding high-end kitchen appliances such as steam ovens and pizza ovens was associated with higher selling prices, which specifically reflects the changing times of more people spending time at home cooking amidst the ongoing global pandemic.
In the bedroom...
Bedrooms painted a “moody, dark blue” were associated with about a USD $1,500 (AUD $2,000) sale premium, with deep charcoal grey and rich forest green also receiving positive scores from respondents. It might be time to go big and bold when it comes to your sleep sanctuary.
