You’ve probably asked yourself this question if you’ve sold a house before. Whether to paint or not is a subjective question based on your particular situation both financially and based on your home and market.

Before going into detail, below is a brief checklist outlining some basic qualities that indicate whether repainting is recommended.

Repaint If you have:

• Bold shades
• Scuffed and dirty looking walls
• Naturally dark home
• House will be vacant/unfurnished

Probably fine if you have:

• Light shades
• Few apparent blemishes
• Naturally bright home
• Furniture in the home that matches paint colors

Shades vs Colors

Imagine Microsoft Paint or some other color spectrum. There is a color wheel and a “black to white” slider. The black to white slider is much more important than the color wheel. As long as your house is closer to the white end of the spectrum, meaning it has lighter tones, you’re probably fine. However, the closer to a neutral color such as grey or white, the better. Neutral colors are the safest options and almost always better than any color.

Blemishes and Vacant Homes

Some blemishes can be rubbed out, touched up, or magically erased, if this is the case, you’re probably fine. If your walls have an overall appearance of wear and stain, you’re better off just repainting. This is especially the case for vacant homes, when there’s no furniture to draw the eye, all of the attention goes elsewhere, and there isn’t much else to look at than the walls and floors. For this reason, if your house is empty, you’re better off repainting to give it a new and fresh look.

Dark Houses and Light Houses

Open the all the blinds and curtains to your home, do you feel like it’s flooded with light or is it in a bit of a shadow? Light is a crucial quality that sells homes and makes people feel comfortable. If your house is dark and you don’t have white walls, paint them white - that’s all there is to it.

“The Buyers Can Just Repaint if They Don’t Like the Colors”

This is true, buyers can repaint if they don’t like the colors but unfortunately for you, they won’t buy the house. This is part of the real estate foundation of psychology. Buyers don’t have the foresight to imagine what the house would look like with their colors the same way they can’t imagine their own furniture in the home. Buyers can, and will, only see what is in the house - and they will judge it. If your home has a color that they wouldn’t use, count it out.

The Solution

When in doubt, paint it neutral. It most likely won’t hurt, and it will most likely help more than you can imagine.