Choosing the right colour to sell your home

Everyone's talking about house prices arent they? However more and more articles in the news suggest that the honeymoon period for homeowners in the UK is now over and a crash, or at least a slowdown maybe on the way.....in fact, this could happen in Spain pretty soon too

Many people over the past few years have made a fortune in buying and selling houses, and moving up the property ladder, although spare a thought for those at the bottom who cant get on, partially due to BTL (buy to let) investors snapping up all the cheap homes! (I hope my landlord doesnt read this!) ED

Nevertheless, recent anecdotal evidence of the USA housing market should be a warning to all in the UK. The USA housing market is exeriencing a downturn after several enjoyable years. Interest rates have gone up (UK home owners please take note of this, the rates will rise again and again) and repossesions are also on the up. Many greedy mortgage companies have lost money as they seemed to lend to anyone, after all, houses will always go up wont they?

NO!

With the arrival of HIPS home information packs (and the editor himself has seen a huge increase in houses for sale where he lives over the past month), interest rate rises, the increased cost of living, its no wonder some people (especially those who have stretched themselves to get on the ladder), are now starting to worry.

.......So if you are thinking of selling YOUR house, NOW is the time to get it ready for sale, and the first thing to consider, and easily the best selling point, is the outside of the house! Take a good look. What is the condition? Are there cracks? mould? Flaky paint? Does it look GOOD?! Any estate agent will tell you, that most home owners make a decision to buy in the first few seconds that they arrive at a house, so yours needs to look the best in the street or it may not sell!

When painting your home to sell, choosing the right colours can make a huge difference in not only the price you will get for it, but also the time it takes to sell.

For instance, did you know that the exterior colour of houses selling most quickly, from evidence from the USA, is a certain shade of yellow, but that choosing the wrong shade of yellow can make it almost unsaleable!

You'll find many brochures and leaflets in DIY and paint stores, showing various combinations of exterior paint colours. But most people don't realize that most of those combinations actually include three colours, and not just two. Limiting your exterior paint scheme to just two colours also limits your income potential.

For a fast sale, some would suggest to think fun colours and go for a third, or even a fourth, exterior colour on the outside walls.

Think "Balamory," where every shop and house is painted in glorious multi-colours. Adding more colours will also add definition to the various architectural details of your home, and you could use gloss or semi-gloss paint on wood trim.

The Psychology of Exterior Colours

When choosing exterior paint colours, take the sales price of your home into account.

Some research has shown that certain colours, especially muted, complex shades, attract wealthy or highly-educated buyers, whereas buyers with less income or less education generally prefer simpler colours. A complex colour contains tints of grey or brown, and usually requires more than one word to describe, such as "seafoam green," as opposed to "green."

On the other hand, simple colours are straightforward and pure. Generally, houses in the lower price range sell faster and for higher prices when painted in simple colours like magnolia, yellow or tan, accented by white, blue, or green trim.

The Psychology of Interior Colours

I would reccomend when selling a house, to paint your walls a neutral shade and NOT a colour that YOU like, as any seller looking around the house will almost always do some decorating themselves! Remember, you are painting to SELL!

Porches and hallways should bring the exterior colours into the house. Repeating shades of the exterior throughout your home will make the entire home seem to be in harmony. Living rooms and lounges painted in a slightly lighter shade of the exterior colour will ensure that you've picked a colour your potential buyers like, because if they didn't like your exterior wall colours, they wouldn't have bothered to look inside. If they loved the exterior colours, more often than not they'll love the interior, too.

Choosing interior paint colours

When choosing interior colours, consider the use of each room. For instance, kitchen and dining areas that are painted in “food colors,” such as coffee browns, celery greens, and custard yellows, feel natural, although if you are on a tight budget and merely wish to spruce the place up to sell, then go for muted neutral colours again such as white or cream.

Since, deeper shades of colour imply intimacy, some people like to paint master bedrooms a medium shade of green or blue for warm selling seasons, and rouge red for cooler weather, although again, be careful not to go over the top and its best to ignore what BBC changing rooms would do to a room!!. If the master bedroom looks like a "tarts boudior", it wont sell your house, in fact it will put people off (and will entrench a rather bizzare view from prospective house buyers about what sort of person you are!)

Other bedrooms can be painted in creamy tones of green, blue, or a pale shell pink, or again, if youre on a budget, just slap some magnolia around to give a blank slate for the new owner, sometimes they like that.

House selling Season

Always consider your selling season (the time of year you, or an agent, will be marketing your home) and consider the climate when choosing exterior wall paint colours. Estimate the amount of time you'll need to get your home ready for sale, and then add on extra days for unexpected delays. Use cool colours, such as blues, greens, and greys, to sell during spring and summer, and warm colours, such as yellows, reds, and maroons, when selling during autumn or winter time. As a rule if the outside looks really good, it stands a better chance of selling but dont be greedy with price, or it will stay on the market for ages.

Colour Intensity

When getting ready to paint your house, look at the colours of neighbouring houses and choose paint colours that harmonise, yet stand out from the crowd.

Colours that clash badly with other houses will detract from the overall neighborhood and your home could become the areas "joke" house, or worse, a local landmark.

("yes mate, turn left at the awful pink and green house down the road, then next right at the day-glo orange bungalow about half a mile down......")!

Earlier on in this article it was suggested that homes with yellow exteriors sell the quickest, at least in the USA they do, but which shade of yellow sells best?

First, the yellows to avoid: yellows with green undertones look sickly to most buyers, and yellows with orange undertones give buyers an impression of cheapness.

The best-selling yellow exterior colour paint in america is actually a pale, sunny yellow, especially when complimented with one or more carefully-chosen accent colours. For instance, a semi-gloss white trim will give your home a clean and fresh look, and adding a third colour, such as green, can make your home even more attractive to prospective buyers.

Colours affect human beings in many ways, and by using the principles of Colour Psychology, you can make your home stand out from the competition, sell more quickly, and at a higher price. With the housing market showing signs of breaking finally, only the best houses, that look the best and with no cracks, flaky paint or unsound render, will sell quickly.

Why not call us in for a quote to get your home sorted, you may be surprised how much money you could save!