Paint Colors to Boost a Home’s Sales Price
New research shows dark olive green and rich navy blue are the value-boosting colors of 2025. Buyers prefer dark shades of green, blue and gray.
SEATTLE — New Zillow research finds that a dark olive green kitchen and a navy blue bedroom can boost a home's sale price. Nearly one-third of all homeowners paint their home before listing it for sale, but sellers can earn top dollar when they pick the right colors.
Zillow's study finds recent and prospective home buyers prefer muted green kitchens over all other colors, and they're willing to offer $1,597 more for homes with cabinets painted this color. Buyers liked navy blue bedrooms the best. This restful shade can increase a home's sale price by $1,815.
"Buyers view olive green and navy blue as contemporary colors, and that can have a halo effect on their perception of the entire home," said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's home trends expert. "These shades of blue and green are associated with organic modernism, a value-driving aesthetic that incorporates sustainable materials like wood and stone. These nature-inspired colors evoke the same feelings of serenity and tranquility."
Charcoal gray was the top choice in Zillow's previous paint color analysis, and it remains the preferred color in the living room. Homes with a dark gray living room can sell for $2,593 more. Charcoal also performed well as an alternative to olive green and navy blue in the kitchen and bedroom. A mid-tone brown, similar to the 2025 Pantone Color of the Year, commanded the highest offer prices when painted in the bathroom.
The wrong colors can cost sellers thousands. Recent and prospective buyers would pay nearly $4,000 less for a home with a daisy yellow kitchen ($3,915 less) or living room ($3,891 less). They would pay nearly $2,000 less for a home with a fire hydrant red living room ($1,820 less) or bedroom ($1,987 less).
Darker shades of green, blue and gray outperformed white and lighter shades of sage green and pale sky blue in Zillow's analysis. These findings challenge the old adage that home sellers should always go light and bright when painting their home for resale. Instead, today's buyers are drawn to bold, personalized hues that make a home feel like a sanctuary.
Before pulling out the drop cloth and paint roller, homeowners should consult with a trusted local real estate agent for advice on what buyers are looking for in their particular neighborhood. Savvy sellers would also be wise to combine the right paint colors with other smart selling strategies to earn top dollar on their home.
This research was conducted by Zillow's behavioral science team, which surveyed more than 4,200 recent and prospective home buyers around the country. In the study, buyers were randomly assigned images of a home with interior spaces painted in one of 10 colors. Each color got a score based on how much buyers liked a home, how interested they were in buying the home, their likelihood of touring the home and the price they would be willing to pay for the home.
Source: Zillow
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