Charcoal grey kitchens can sell homes for nearly $6,500 more

This paint colour analysis is based on a Zillow® studyⁱ of more than 3,000 recent or prospective Canadian home buyers. Each colour received a score based on how interested participants were in touring a home, buying a home and the price they would be willing to pay for the home, based on viewing that colour in a particular room. National price premiums were calculated based on a typical Canadian home value of $746,146.

The clear winner was dark charcoal grey painted in all rooms of the home, with the largest potential price premiums in the kitchen. Recent and prospective buyers said they were more interested in touring and buying a home with a charcoal grey kitchen and, on average, they were willing to pay $6,491 more for that home. Buyers and shoppers were also willing to pay more for a home with a dark grey bathroom ($4,029 more), bedroom ($5,074 more) and living room ($4,999 more.)    

“Moody dark grey is appealing to today’s home buyers because it feels contemporary, and adds depth, drama and contrast to a space,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert. “Painting is one of the easiest and most common projects homeowners tackle before listing their home for sale. This research shows it pays to be strategic about the paint colours sellers select to attract more potential buyers and boost their bottom line.”

Recent and prospective buyers were also willing to pay more for homes with sky blue kitchens ($2,612 more) and bedrooms ($1,865 more.) A mid-tone cement grey earned high marks when used in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom, and commanded price premiums of up to $1,865.  

Conversely, forest green bathrooms and kitchens, a designer favourite, received poor marks from recent and prospective buyers. Those buyers would pay, on average, $5,596 less for a home with a dark green bathroom and $3,656 less for a dark green kitchen. Trendy mint green kitchens can also hurt a home’s sale price by $3,432. Kitchens and living rooms in sunshine yellow, the 2021 Pantone Colour of the Year, were also generally unpopular with buyers, and could contribute to a home selling for $6,044 less than similar homes. 

“Our study found home buyers may be particularly sensitive to paint colour, despite paint being a relatively easy and inexpensive change, because they’re navigating a complex environment with a lot of uncertainty,” said Kate Rogers, a senior behavioural scientist at Zillow. “When study participants thought the homeowner had similar tastes to them, they perceived the home more positively and were also more likely to make an offer more than $2,000 higher. On the whole, recent and prospective Canadian buyers were more likely to feel similar to the homeowners when the rooms were painted a shade of grey, white or blue.”

Tastes can vary by region, and this analysis found differences in buyer preferences across five of Canada’s largest metro areas. Toronto buyers were willing to pay $6,499 more for homes with a bright jay blue living room on a typical home valued at $1,354,000. In Montreal, burgundy in the bathroom and living room could command a sale premium of up to $4,413.ⁱⁱ Calgarians bucked the national sentiment and said they would pay up to $3,325 more for homes with mint green or sunshine yellow kitchens.ⁱⁱⁱ 

About Zillow Group

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make it easier to unlock life’s next chapter. 

As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting or financing with transparency and nearly seamless end-to-end service. Zillow Home Loans™, our affiliate lender, provides our customers with an easy option to get pre-approved and secure financing for their next home purchase. Zillow recently launched Zillow Homes, Inc., a licensed brokerage entity, to streamline Zillow Offers transactions.  

Zillow Group’s brands, affiliates and subsidiaries include Zillow®; Zillow Offers®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans™; Zillow Closing Services™; Zillow Homes, Inc.; Trulia®; Out East®; StreetEasy® and HotPads®. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

ⁱ This study included 3,076 participants across Canada (18–90 years old, median = 36 years old, 51% female) who indicated that they had bought a home within the past two years or plan to buy a home within the next two years. Data was collected 11/23/21–12/17/21. Participants viewed four homes with four images of the home’s interior (living room, kitchen, primary bedroom and primary bathroom). For each home, each room was independently and randomly assigned to be one of 10 colours. For questions about research methodology, contact [email protected].

ⁱⁱ Based on a typical Montreal home value of $573,100, per CREA April 2022.

ⁱⁱⁱ Based on a typical Calgary home value of $511,600, per CREA April 2022.

SOURCE Zillow