Updated 2026.
One question home sellers frequently have is, "Should I repaint my house before selling it?"
House painting can be one of the best investments in an overall plan to sell your house. Painting allows the home seller to improve the house’s value for the least amount of money. It also attracts more home buyers faster, thanks to the move-in-ready condition fresh paint provides, which is often the number one quality military homebuyers are looking for.
Before heading to the hardware store to choose paint colors, take a moment to read the answers to these common questions. They could save you time and money.
Feel secure in knowing that repainting your home is usually worth the investment. Of course, you’ll have to run the numbers and align the project with your neighborhood's standards to earn the most money on your sale, but expect a 2% to 5% increase in your home’s value by updating exterior painting, and 5% or slightly more for new interior paint.
Your home’s location, size, repairs, and type of paint used affect how much it costs to repaint. But on average, you’ll pay about $2,000 to $5,000 for interior paint.
The average cost for exterior painting ranges from $5,000 to $8,000, but it’s not unheard of to pay $15,000 to $20,000 for expansive, intricate home exteriors.
If you hire an agent to assist with selling your home, they can help you determine which painting updates are beneficial as they'll be well versed in current real estate trends.
Even if you sell your home as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), it's worth paying a professional a consulting fee to help you decide to invest in a paint overhaul. After crunching the numbers, you’ll see that one of the easiest ways to maximize profits for homes for sale by owner is a quality paint upgrade.
Rely on their expertise to work through the costs. They may refer to figures that prove the seller's market is hot and suggest selling without paint updates, particularly if your move-out timeline is unexpected and short. Or, they could present calculations that suggest a week's worth of work and a few thousand dollars could add an extra $10,000 or $20,000 to the final sale price.
Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent: A Guide for Military Home Buyers will help you learn how to find an agent who will work hard for you.
Choosing crowd-pleasing paint colors is one of the best tips for staging your house to sell. A wide range of real estate professionals have proven that curb appeal and blank-slate interiors attract the most buyers. A tan, white, beige, greige, or gray color palette might bore you to tears, but the average home buyer prefers a turnkey property or an easily personalized home.
Military homebuyers rarely have the time to oversee a complete paint renovation before signing into a new duty station, so they’re inclined to buy a home that suits their unpacking timeline and is a neutral backdrop for their belongings.
It's best to stick to one or two neutral colors throughout the house for eye-pleasing continuity, immediate move-in appeal, and cost-effectiveness.
Ideas for Neutral Interior Paint Colors
It's okay to add a little personality when choosing exterior paint. Although white homes are still popular, other acceptable neutrals with pizazz include green, navy, and gray. Keep in mind that your home’s trim and shutter color could be the way to add a little color personality that draws buyers in.
Select paint colors that complement those of your neighbors. Buyers want cohesiveness, not an eyesore. The caveat to this is if you live in a location with personalized-on-purpose painted homes like those on San Francisco's famous Painted Ladies or Charleston’s Rainbow Row.
Ideas for Exterior Paint Colors
Painting isn’t the only way to increase your property’s value. See 12 Repairs You Should Make Before Selling Your Home.
Discuss interior and exterior paint finishes with a professional painter after they’ve evaluated your home's condition. But if you prefer a DIY project, there are many factors to consider, including primers, durability, climate, exposure to natural light, camouflage effects, and price point. Using high-quality paint that serves multiple purposes is one of the best tips for staging your house to sell.
The go-to exterior paints are oil, latex, and acrylic latex. Pro painters often pick latex paint for the interior, but some wall conditions might require an oil-based paint for better coverage. All paint comes in a range of finishes: flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss.
Each type of paint has its pros and cons. Flat paint hides more flaws but is less durable. High-gloss paint highlights flaws but is more durable. Many homeowners go for the middle ground with satin and semi-gloss finishes.
Even if it's the only paint project you can afford, invest in updating your front door. The amount of positive curb appeal a freshly painted door project provides is substantial. And don’t stress about the paint color—the most popular paint color requested for a front door is black.
You can’t go wrong with a shiny, regal, stately black door. It's a widespread belief in the real estate industry that a black door can increase a home’s value since it can signify a polished, intentional design choice. If black just doesn’t work for your property, a dark neutral green, such as olive, is an attractive option.
If you have the time and money, updating your home's interior and exterior paint could pay you thousands of dollars on closing day. However, if an entire makeover isn’t in the budget, consider a smaller paint project with a big impact, like painting kitchen cabinets or adding the perfect shade of black to your front door.