I think painting it bold could only help an eccentric house or one that would be period specific. As a general idea if you use off whites the buyer sees this as an opportunity to add their own color palette easily.

Colors are so taste-specific that I think it always makes it more difficult for potential owners if they have already been selected. The first think I would think when moving into a house with pink or blue walls is that I would need to paint. I wouldn't automatically think that with white walls, even if I ended up painting later.

correction: The first thing I would think...

I think it depends on the decor overall. If the colors of the walls, furniture, and accessories are all of the same palette it draws the space together and creates a bigger impact than just white walls could.

If someone doesn't have an eye for color or likes "funky" walls it'd be better to just paint it all white.

The house we ended up buying had green walls in the living room and a pastel yellow kitchen. My boyfriend actually liked the green (I didn't), but the pastel yellow made the cabinetry and floors look terrible. Most people will repaint anyway to put up colors they like. White is at least a blank canvas so they don't have to worry about getting to it immediately (I spent the first weekend we moved in painting over that horrid yellow). Bold colors can be a big turn-off, unless, as Funstraw says, they highlight period-specific architecture.

Color is so personal. Even the tone of a beige (too gray or too gold) can turn someone off. I wouldn't go with bold colors just to show it for sale. If it's already bold and those colors go with your own decor (and if your decor is tasteful) then leave it, but offer a painting allowance. If you have to spruce up the paint to make it look good for showing, go with something appropriate to the period but still very light and neutral.

I think it really depends on the colors- if they're popular current colors, it can be a selling point. I sold a house several years ago when the green/red/gold thing was going on, and a lot of people who looked at the house, as well as the ones who bought it, said they really liked how all the colors coordinated. That may be the last house I made a profit on when I sold it.

I bought a very colorful condo, but I bought it in spite of the colors and had to repaint before we moved in. I wouldn't let something inexpensive like painting keep me from my dream home, but it is strange how some buyers have NO imagine at all. I don't think you have to go all white, most show houses seem to be neutrals (cream, tan, pale green).

Absolutely think neutral when selling. Cream, beige, white, etc.

Repaint. A buyer will calculate the cost of repainting and factor that in with an offer. Fresh paint will enhance the condition as well as neutralize the color scheme for mass appeal. Pale cafe au lait colors are neutral without being cold.

I happen to love color. I also HATE some colors on walls. So, I guess what I'm saying is... even with color lovers, if it's not a color they're fond of, you turn them off. I also would consider, does this color go with my furniture so I don't need to paint immediately? How many rooms would absolutely have to be painted immediately? If you have one girl's room with blue skies and clouds, I think people can look past it. The whole downstairs in lime green? Maybe not.

I think that -- in general -- most buyers have little imagination when it comes to buying homes. As far as the painting question goes, I would ask the following questions:

[1] How much would repainting hurt the way my house looks right now? (as the buyers would see it)
[2] If I threw out all my furniture and replaced it with someone else's furniture (think 'generic' furniture, like what you see in your neighbors house's), would the paint color still work?

Your house should always look "good" -- though you should be able to get away with a good looking house with the right neutrals (even if it would like "great" with bolder colors). But it should look "good" with someone else's furniture as well. For the less creative people, the most they will do is imagine their furniture in your house. For the more creative people, the color of your walls don't matter as they've already repainted it in their heads, anyway.

If it's clear that you'll repaint white before the buyer moves in, so that painting costs aren't a factor in their decision, I think color can be good if it highlights architectural details or potential in a home. But you have to be SO honest with yourself about whether your colors are in what is generally considered "good taste." Don't depend on buyers to "get" your sense of style.

I bought a condo painted bold colors arranged in an interesting way that I happened to love and still have on my walls. Although the colors were good choices for potential buyers for this neighborhood and showed really well, another person still might not have liked them.

Have colours and decoration that you love - you can never know what potential buyers are looking for.

I almost put on offer on a house that was completely black inside. It was very eclectic and complimented the owner's artwork very well, but it definitely hindered her ability to sell. Despite being spacious and in a desirable location, the house sat on the market for half a year and sold for about $100k less than what it could have.

Generally I think it's worth having the main spaces painted in light, neutral colors. Most buyers are not imaginative or don't want to invest the time and money in having a place repainted, and dark/bold colors will always make it look smaller.

i am in the process of selling my house and thought that my coral-orange kitchen walls might be a problem. all of the realtors i interviewed and the three people that put offers on the house LOVED the color--But--it is a popular color right now, and the house is a small bungalow. (i am assuming that folks who would be attracted to a house like this would have more of an appreciation of quirky charm.)
and the color works perfectly.

De-clutter, de-personalize and go neutral. (not stark white)

Don't think of it as your house anymore. You're selling a product now.

I have had a stranger rent an apartment after me specifically on the condition that it remain as I painted it - which was tropical greens, blues, purples, and oranges, with some murals. Some people (me included) hate white walls and have trouble imagining white or beige rooms as "home." It's like any kind of art or fashion, really; something more neutral will appeal to a broader range of people, but something specific and well-executed will make a few people extremely passionate, and will hook them in a way something blander would not.

And not to put too fine a point on it, but neighborhood matters. In the U.S. at least, ethnically diverse communities and colorful houses tend to go together. White rooms make me think "white people and white bread." I'm sure that's a stereotype with many exceptions, but it comes from having lived in several "white flight" cities where white-walled new construction equals gated communities, and old Victorians in wild colors means there are taco stands nearby. Basically, where I come from, white walls vs. colored walls is a signal to renters about the "kind of people" the owners want or don't want, like code language from a shadow system of racial disempowerment.

To me, a white room is a red flag that if you're not pale they're going to run a background check on you and ask for your pay stubs (although as a white person you could use stated income). Other flags: listings that use the words "good neighborhood" or emphasize "building financial equity" instead of making a home.

I'm in the process of house huntnig now and the only times I've really thought a colour hurt a property in my eyes is when it was painted in contrasty stripes which would be a pain to cover over. Wallpaper is the worse evil for me.

But to add a thought, I know that I want to paint once I've bought. I've had so many years of renting and "tastefully neutral" or white walls and having no say (Unless I was willing to say goodbye to my security deposit) that I know when I have a place that's truly mine every wall in that house will be whatever I want it to be, so I actually feel sort of disappointed to see listings where they point out that they've just painted everything because it makes me feel like that's a waste of money. I'd rather see those butt ugly lavender and pink bedrooms I can happily wave goodbye to than a brand new neutral mushroom I will feel guilty about covering 3 months after it was painted.

While I agree that neutral sells, I think it's sad that buyers can't use their imagination and realize that changing the color is an easy fix. Having to paint before selling is a terrible waste time, money, and resources, when the new owner is most likely going to re-paint anyway.

Interior paint colors show off architectural detail and give a house personality that a white color scheme doesn't. It may be repainted in the end but if the color scheme isn't too eccentric it gives "interior curb appeal" which helps sell the house.

Before we put our house on the market I painted over my crazy plum accent walls so that the house was painted in a totally neutral color palate. When we took it off the market, I found that I liked it so much more without the darker color. I really liked the color when it was up but I am apparently much more bland that I previously suspected...

This seems like the wrong crowd to ask, honestly. Most of the people who visit this site could probably look past bad color choices (I did!) But could the average home shopper? Would you even want to take that gamble? It's hard enough to sell a house right now, why narrow down your pool of potential buyers.

I think anything with too much of the homeowner's personality or taste can be off-putting. You can have beige walls, but if they're covered in personal artifacts or containing unappealing furniture does it really matter?

And I think a lot can be learned from mrsyow's comment - have someone who's a bit more objective than you (realtor, brutally honest friend, neighbor, mailman, whomever) come in and see if they think it's too personal or if it suits the house. Turns out the coral kitchen worked well where "conventional wisdom" would say otherwise.

I don't think it's a one size fits all answer. I've been in homes with red walls that were tastefully decorated and the red wasn't a deterrent, even though it wasn't my style.

When we looked for our first house, we were not going to have any money after the purchase for redecorating for a long time, so furniture would be by necessity in the way by then (unlike the situation of painting before you actually move in.) We dismissed places with themed wallpaper and weird colors just because we couldn't live with those for any length of time. So you lose some buyers right off the bat if you don't neutralize things.

I say go with fresh paint (or make sure everything is clean and feels fresh and move-in ready, if not actually newly painted.) NOT stark white, but creamy neutrals, boring beiges, cafe au lait colors, nearly neutral blues or greens... easy colors to live with and that don't clash with somebody else's furnishings.

Wallpaper will preclude a large percentage of buyers who won't like it and won't want to deal with changing it. (On the other hand, a gay couple I know chose a house once partially because of some dramatic metallic wallpaper -- so if you are lucky enough to find the RIGHT buyer, not always easy, anything can work.)

When selling, find a really good realtor that you like and trust, and ask THEM whether or not they can sell your house as-is, and what to change for the local market. We did, and she sold the place to the first and only people who looked BEFORE the MLS went up for our adking price in a down market and before we finished the staging! We might have held out for a bidding war (dream on!) but the offer was fair and then it was done, and since our new place was under construction, it was important to not end up with two mortgages, so it worked very well for us!!

I've been in the process of buying a house for the last few months. I saw one that was very brightly painted: fire engine red, apple green, yellow, just to name a few. Looking around the place, I just kept adding up the price of painting those walls, never mind all the other things that were wrong with the place.

That's why they stick with neutral colors, those home stagers. Builders' grade white is as horrible as the worst shade of pink. Go gentle, pick subtle colors that focus the eye on the lines of the room, not the color of the wall.

I honestly don't think it matters. I like color but I bought a house painted entirely mauve. I'm happy to say it didn't last long.

Realtors use the phrase "move-in ready" in their postings as a selling point -- there's nothing a buyer has to do other than put their furniture in the place. No painting, no fixing, no new carpeting/flooring, replacing appliances, etc. Most people want to put their own stamp on a place and don't necessarily want to do it the minute they move in. It's a luxury to be able to renovate or redecorate before moving in, especially after plunking down a deposit, closing costs and moving costs. So, unless you're dealing with the most expensive property (where price is no option), keep it simple, neutral -- "move-in ready."

I hate to say it, but we have moved a lot, and the majority of homebuyers have NO imagination WHATSOEVER. We always have colors on the walls, and the first thing every real estate person tells us is to please repaint the walls white.

The two times we tried to sell without painting every wall bland white, the houses languished months on the market, until we painted everything white--after which they both sold within a week.

I sure hope we don't move again, because I love the colors we have now (oh, and the house too, of course).

I don't see it as buyers having a lack of imagination. I see it as buyers thinking, "Oh man, i have a lot of painting to do." At least if it's a neutral -- not stark white, but some kind of white or cream, or maybe beige if it's not too boring -- is a lot easier to live with until you're able to decide on your own color scheme. I had to live with green walls that I couldn't stand for several months after buying before I had the time and money to pick a color and paint. It clashed with my artwork and my furniture and really bummed me out. I didn't hate it enough to not buy the house, but it definitely made me less excited about the property.

Repaint.

1) Fresh paint will make the house look its best.

2) Most people have no imagination.

3) Many (most?) people have no taste (I'm in Oklahoma, and you should SEE Craigslist here -- my view is SO justified).

4) Anything I don't like, when looking at a house, even if as easy to change as paint, gets added to my "sigh...sh*t to do after I unpack" list and just makes me tired. If a house has neutral walls, I'm less bugged and can do more important stuff before adding color to inoffensive walls. I would MUCH rather buy a house with neutral walls than ones that, given my location and simple probability, I'd want to paint ASAP.

I have certainly spent my share of time painting over a really scary color before moving in, but I am not sure that I agree with the stereotypical realtor advice to paint everything white.

I believe that the keys are to make your house seem as large as possible and to make it look nice. If it's a higher end space, the people are more likely to be able to not worry about the price of painting, and you want to do everything you can to emphasize high end features, like in the photo above. Obviously light beiges and greys work as neutrals, but so can blues, yellows, and greens, as long as they are light and don't seem like they would be a chore to cover. If they make the room seem morre appealing overall, I think they can do just as well at being "neutral".

I think neutral paint is important especially in the market where I live as it is specifically listed on the MLS "neutral paint colours throughout" and so forth. I don't worry about paint when buying just wallpaper. Those who put up wallpaper right on the drywall without painting it first and those who paint right over wallpaper. Have experienced both and would run for the hills if wallpaper is in more than one room of a house I was interested in.

I realize I am in minority but I absolutely CRINGE when house hunters (on the various HGTV shows) proclaim "We would not have to paint!"
To me, painting is FUN and it is part of the process making the house MINE. It does not mean that walls have to be dark teal, coral orange or apple green, but I would still want to change the colours so that it goes with what I already have (or I want to kick up a notch and change things).
How much does it cost to buy a few gallons of pain? Yeah, if you are buying a MacMansion of 4,000 sq. feet it will probably be a few gallons but I usually survive with a gallon of good paint (Behr) per average-sized room.
So even with Ontario's exorbitant taxes, that's about $35 per gallon.

I honestly hate how most people have such limited imagination that they cannot see past the purple wall colour or past the grandma's wallpaper.

I think the real answer is: it depends on where the property is located. If it's in much of the U.S., the majority of sellers lack imagination, so painting a home's interior one color or one color family throughout increases the perception that the house is larger since there's little visual break from room to room. In half a dozen locations, domestic and international, where we or family members sold homes noone ever blinked on the asking price despite very colorful walls. The object, in real estate, is to get the fewest dings on your asking price due to the perception that 'work' needs to be done - so - if you're in an area where potential buyers perceive painting to be an arduous or expensive task then by all means repaint those colorful walls a popular neutral color.

I moved into this apartment with: an unevenly-painted grape-soda living room, a pepto-pink bedroom, the master bedroom to chair-rail height in a dark, saturated aquarium blue, and above that in pistachio, a pistachio bathroom, and the crowning delight, a kitchen of mustard walls, canary yellow cabinetry, and orange counters.

Did I buy it? Yes, absolutely. Do I think the colours were the reason nobody beat us to it? Kinda, yeah! And there are other units in the building I know sold for money.

It was what we were looking for - not the colours, but the price point and the fixability - but I don't think it did the seller any favours.

That said, I think white vs. an of-the-moment neutral (even neutrals trend, I wouldn't want to market a pinkish beige right now but I would a pale grey) is probably fairly balanced. I would pick a neutral that flattered my furnishings - why flatter my furnishings when I'm leaving? Solely for staging, I don't want to buy generic new furniture so I'd just present my own crap in the best and most de-cluttered way I could.

the ubiquitous colour should be renamed "sell-your-house yellow." it matches nothing, it is not attractive, it just attempts to make rooms look sunny when it rains. the alternative name for the colour is "wants-to-be-high-end-apartment-house-lobby yellow," usually when it is not.

I would think it would really depend on whether or not the colors appealed to the specific viewer in which case overall I think it might just narrow the audience.

It depends on the colors. If they are sort of a neutral light color such as a light gold then maybe I would not paint. If they were a dark color like red I would.

Glidden Eternal Beige for the walls and Belgium Lace for the trim. I have flipped lots of places in the last 15 years and white is not a sure thing. There are so many hues and people usually select or mix the wrong ones and it can be garish and/or glaring. Painting is cheap, effective and DIY. Flat paint makes walls look more even (hides flaws). Eggshell for the trim (not all trim is in good shape.

Clean the windows inside and out. Flooring -- one trick I used was to match the wall color exactly to existing (in excellent condition only) lighter shades of neutral carpeting or flooring -- makes the place look huge. Clear out almost everything and put it in storage so someone can imagine themselves there. CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN

I just bought my first place a couple months ago, and I have to say, while I was shopping, I never once considered paint as a pro or con. I assumed I would be painting anyplace I moved into and was determined to look at the bones of a house, not the easiest stuff to change. The home I bought did have painted walls -- a couple beige rooms, but also pale blue, pale yellow and spring green. They were all tasteful and attractive, and made the home look more pulled-together. I'm leaving the kitchen the same color -- and that was the one with the boldest choice! Frankly, I think it all boils down to whether or not you have taste and whether the apartment has furniture. If you have a tastefully decorated apartment with paint colors that work with the space, I bet it's a plus. If you have a weakness for bold primary shades, or if your house is empty and going for "blank slate" appeal, white or beige might serve you better.

I think people who are going to love a house will look past the colour (as paint is the cheapest way to change a space) and will by because it has location location location, good value and has has the space required.

There are/were four houses for sale down the road. They're all identical in layout. Two of them are painted in neutral colours, two of them according to the owner's taste, with bold wallpapers and the like. The colourful ones sold within days, the neutral ones have been on the market for many months.

I've been house hunting, and neutral homes really put me off too.

I'm bored to death with neutrals.

They are devoid of personality and character, and feel manipulative.

Most people do not have an eye for design, and cannot imagine a space differently. If a place is already painted or papered in a way that shows off the potential of the house, then it sells.

We have a couple of extremely dark walls in our house -- Donald Kaufman colours. And dark would floors. Not the sort of thing which fits into the neutral palette theory. But when we rented our house, we had 10 offers in a single day. Not sure what will happen when we go to sell, because I think that the housing market in our town is about to experience a serious shock, but I think it would do well compared to a plainer house. I hope.

depends on where you live. If you live in an artsy, funky, "hip" area you are probably ok leaving it. If you live in a fairly suburban area, no.

Everyone and their brother will tell you to keep in neutral, but I've purchased 2 houses in my life, and both time (the second time in an over saturated buyers market) the houses that have color and are well decorated tend to sell immediately, at asking price (I call them "pottery barn" homes, that style seems to draw in the buyers.) While more neutral homes seemed to sit and sit and sit.

My agent claims most people don't have the imagination to walk into a house and imagine potential. They need to see a complete picture to peak their interest (that obviously might not be the case in a community like this, but might just be true of the greater, general public.)

I have sold two houses with colorful paint but did not go too dark or bold. Really dark paint makes rooms look smaller and all I think when I see that kind of paint is wow, that's going to take a lot of primer to cover up. So I wouldn't go too dark or bold. At the same time I think a beige or white scheme sucks the character out of a house. Borrrring. I definitely couldn't live in it just for the sake of resale value.

Mainly depends on the colors but I think leaving them painted is best.
You have to remember that most the people commenting on this are home design junkies to begin with that have imaginations and like clean slates, chances are the people that buy your house won't be. They'd probably appreciate that the creativity was already done, and if not painting it white themselves is easy. I say this after growing up in my parents home which had all white walls, and every house/apt I've been to since; its scary for most people to actually pick a color. Also I think its best if you try to avoid putting up unnecessary layers of paint. For awhile I lived in army housing that was pretty old, it was policy to always paint your house back to white before you left so those walls looked like they had 40 layers of paint underneath them and were just hideous.

I have a pretty bold home that was stark white when we bought it. I hated the white and it reminded me of an apartment. If I had to list my condo today, I'd go a little more neutral, but definitely not white. For the most part, white doesn't seem as "homey" as beige, pale gray or pale yellow. When we were shopping for a house, the only paint color that gave me pause was super high gloss blood red in a teeny bathroom... that also went up to the popcorn ceiling. Anything that would be tough to paint over I'd avoid.

When you are selling, your house is a product, not a vision of you and your taste. Fresh paint, in a neutral range. Color is so personal and for many buyers, seeing wild colors adds another "thing to do" to the already long list.

We have a pretty colorful house and the colors really highlight the 1929 finish quarter sawn oak and maple woodwork. But when we sell, I will probably repaint to a lighter range of the current palette; it will still highlight the woodwork, but will be less of an issue for most people.

And I am with those who said that wallpaper is an even bigger issue; there were several houses we saw this time around with wallpaper that I refused to even put in an offer; having hassled with removing wallpaper before, I will NEVER buy a house with wallpaper again.

@kariwk: THAT is what's scaring me about this current Return to Wallpaper Fetishism (Cole & Sons, etc.). I've lived in two previously-wallpapered houses, and as God is mah witness, nevah agayun. Instant dealbreaker. There should be a LAW that if you put up wallpaper, you are legally bound to undo it before passing the mess on to some other poor shmuck, because wallpaper is a thousand times worse to change than is simple paint. STENCIL, people, please!

@shanalulu--yes, Yes, YES!

I like seeing homes in modern color palettes- whether I agreed with them or not.

I would rather see a white than a beige.

I am not afraid of painting when getting a home.

We bought a home with ugly paint colors- a butter yellow kitchen, and a dark maroon office- and beige and white all over. Forest Green drapes. These people had Navy Blue and Forest Green plaid couches.

I looked past that to see the bones of the place.

We've recently gotten RAVE reviews of our re-done palette from friends and family and people who come into our home. I think it would be a HUGE dis-service if we still lived in the home to repaint it all white. Our belongings are curated to look good in these color palettes in these specific rooms. This shows a home atmosphere much better than a white wall.

Now if we had to move out, I'd reconsider- to feature the walls white.

When we bought our house, the dining room was raspberry red, the landing was pale pink with mint green woodwork, and the cloakroom was glossy navy blue (I think the owners just used up the left-over paint from the exterior woodwork). It's all bright white now, which I love, but I quite miss the eccentric colours!

We bought a house that had 1970s harvest gold and avacado colored EVERYTHING. I immediately removed the horrible wallpaper and painted the whole place white-ish just to "cleanse my palette" and get the real feel of the house. A few months later I was ready to add color.

I wish it had been somewhat neutral when we moved in.

Buyers generally do have little imagination. Non-white pale paint colors wouldn't be a deal-breaker. However, I wouldn't want a house that was painted in dark colors or papered. It would be too much extra work and expense to fix. Buying and moving is already exhausting.