This story is part of Home Tips, CNET’s collection of practical advice for getting the most out of your home, inside and out.
Although it’s the hottest housing market in years, even the color you paint the front door can have an impact on who wants to buy your house. If you’re selling a home, you may not have realized that the color of your front door can influence what prospective buyers are willing to pay for your home, but research from Zillow suggests just that.
Painting your home’s front door slate blue or black will net you the highest selling price for your home, according to a survey from Zillow. Black front doors were associated with the highest offer prices: Actual and prospective buyers said they would be willing to pay $6,449 more on average for a home with a black front door. However, painting your front door black is also riskier than some colors, as respondents said that black was associated with an “imposing” feeling and doesn’t “give positive vibes at all.”
Homes that had slate blue front doors — defined as a “chalky light blue-gray” color — were the most appealing to actual and prospective buyers overall, with respondents saying they were more likely to want to purchase the home and would be willing to pay an estimated $1,537 more than other door colors.
The most unappealing front door colors to potential buyers? Pale pink and cement gray, according to Zillow. Pale pink doors were described by some buyers as “shabby looking” and may actually lower the price people are willing to pay, with actual and prospective buyers saying they would pay $6,516 less on average than anticipated.
Cement gray didn’t fare much better than pale pink. The light gray color was associated with the lowest intention to purchase a home, with respondents intending to offer $1,236 less on average for homes with cement gray doors.