The Color You Paint Your Front Door Could Affect Its Sale Price — By Thousands of Dollars

The eyes may be the window to the soul, but the front door is the gateway to your home. And it turns out, the color of your home’s front door plays an incredibly influential role in how much money prospective buyers are willing to pay for it. A new study just released by Zillow evaluated prospective and recent homebuyers, and asked them what colors made them more or less likely to purchase a home. So before you grab a paint can, take a look at what the statistics showed.  

The color blue conjures images of peace. Whether it’s a beautiful sky or the waves of the ocean, it’s an overall crowd pleaser. So it’s no wonder that homes with a front door painted slate blue, a chalky light blue-gray color, received the top overall score with buyers. That score could also play a role in selling price. On average, buyers would be willing to offer an estimated $1,537 more for the home with a slate blue front door.

It pays to be bold with a front door, as well. Black doors proved to be a win, and were associated with the highest offer price. Buyers saying they would be willing to pay, on average, $6,449 more for a home with this high-contrast front door. But that doesn’t mean this didn’t polarize some survey participants. Some said black front doors were “imposing” and “don’t give positive vibes at all.” Another popular pick was the color olive green, with recent and prospective buyers saying they would be willing to pay an estimated $969 more for a home with the front door painted that shade. 

Of course, along with the colors that boost the likelihood of your home selling for more money, there are certain colors that were proven to be off-putting to recent or prospective buyers. Pale pink front doors were referred to as “kind of shabby looking.” That color choice could significantly affect its sale price, because those surveyed said they would be willing to pay, on average, $6,516 less than expected. The pink shades weren’t the only one that didn’t get much praise: Cement gray front doors received the lowest overall score.

To conduct the study, recent and prospective home buyers were randomly assigned images of front doors painted one of 11 colors. Each color received a score based on buyers’ perception of the home, likelihood of buying the home, and the price they would be willing to pay for the home.

“This research shows how seemingly minor home improvements can make a big difference in the way a potential buyer views and values a home,” says Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert. “A front door is often the first thing that captures a buyer’s eye, and first impressions matter when buyers need to make swift decisions in today’s fast-moving market. When going through a stressful process that brings half of all buyers to tears, visual cues like color can have an outsize impact on decision making.” 

While the color of a front door does seem to play a role, keep in mind that a home’s sale price is determined by a laundry list of factors. However, it does demonstrate that when getting your home ready for sale, small details can play a major role. On average, most sellers make two home improvements before putting it on the market. Painting is an incredibly popular option, since it can be done rather quickly and doesn’t cost as much as major renovations.