Zillow studies suggest that home buyers might pay more for colors they love. Real estate agents, take notice.
What color is your client’s front door? The wrong shade could make buyers spend less — or even shy away from making an offer.
Why do we know this random fact?
Apparently, somebody at Zillow wanted to find out whether home shoppers cared about the color of the front door. They showed prospective buyers images of nearly identical homes that had front doors painted various colors.
The survey suggested that people did care, quite a lot: respondents claimed they were willing to spend an average of $1,500 more if the front door was slate blue and around $6,000 more if it was painted black. But buyers were overall more likely to make an offer on a home with a slate-blue door; whereas some folks loved the black door, and some wouldn’t bid on the black-door house at all because they found the vibe “imposing.”
Cement gray and pale pink doors scored the worst among respondents, with buyers reporting that they’d be willing to pay $3,000 to $6,000 less for those homes.
According to Forbes, while some buyers are willing to shell out more cash for homes with a touch of boldness and style, it’s wise to shoot for wide appeal. “If you want one tried-and-true color rule based on 35 years of selling real estate,” says Atlanta realtor Bill Golden, “I’d say that neutral sells.”
Does that echo the conventional wisdom of real estate, that you should paint the walls white before staging a house, an empty canvas of sorts? Not according to Zillow. Last year, they did an analysis that asked about home-design color trends. Respondents said they’d pay more on average for deep grays than for paler neutrals in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom — just not on the front door. For bathrooms, survey respondents preferred earth tones.
Why did white fall out of fashion? “Luxury home buyers are looking for turnkey properties that look and feel designed, not institutional,” said Jason Saft, the founder of a New York staging company, in House Beautiful. Maybe it’s the Instagram Influencer Effect — home shoppers are now flooded with Dark Academia Pinterest boards and designers’ feeds featuring deep, rich color palettes, and they want to follow those trends without spending months renovating.
A Homes & Gardens feature listed ten interior color trends to watch in 2025, including warm red hues and moody, muted neutrals like earthy mustards and terra cottas. And an MSN article asked three professional designers to predict the top exterior paint preferences for 2025: muted deep blues, warm neutrals, charcoal grays, and black topped their list. (Get interior paint color ideas and inspirations here.)
So, does a black door really equate to a bigger number on the sales contract? Hard to say. There’s a wide gap between what home shoppers say in a survey and what number they actually agree to when closing time comes. But we know this: buying decisions aren’t always rational. “Curb appeal” is a nebulous idea, but it does remind us that, as listing agents, part of the job is to engage a buyer’s emotions, to nudge them toward falling in love with a place and imagining themselves making a life there. In that regard, color counts. And it’s tough to put a price on that.
Although chasing trends can feel like running on a treadmill, do consider helping your sellers choose rich, inviting color palettes as they’re staging their homes — especially for luxury listings. Ask fellow seller’s agents what colors they’re seeing most often and which ones are getting the best results. Don’t copy them; echo them.
Apply your knowledge of human behavior and your artistic sense of how color and light can transform a house into a place that looks like the home of someone’s dreams. That’s added value for your clients, whether or not it actually makes a difference in the sales price.
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