Why You Shouldn't Paint Your House Gray Before Selling

By Cynthia Quarantello

Cynthia Quarantello is an award-winning Real Estate Agent specializing in buying and selling homes throughout the Triangle area. She holds advanced degrees in advertising, marketing, and business, which enable her to provide exceptional service to her clients.

When you decide to sell, the instinct is to get the house ready before you ever pick up the phone. You spend a weekend painting every room, maybe put in fresh carpet, and call us proud of all the work you did. Then we have to be the ones to say, “Why did you do that?”

So let us share the number one thing sellers shouldn’t do before calling their Realtor to list their home.

Trends change, so don’t paint the whole house gray. Here’s the thing about getting your home ready to sell: paint colors and carpet colors go in and out of style, and what looked current a few years ago can date your home today. Gray is a perfect example.

For the better part of a decade, it was the safe, on-trend choice, but gray is on its way out. Buyers are now responding to warmer beiges, whites, and lighter colors. So when someone tells us they already painted the entire house gray to get it ready, our hearts sink a little, because that’s time and money spent on a color that can actually work against the sale.

“Don’t spend a weekend painting your whole house gray. Call us first, before it costs you money.”

Call us before you spend a dime. This is the whole point. Please don’t call us and say, “I did the entire house, I got it all ready for you.” Call us first. The updates that help you sell are specific, and they change with the market, so the smartest move is a quick conversation before you spend money on the wrong ones.

Fresh carpet and fresh paint in current, trendy colors absolutely help when they’re the right ones. We come out, stage your home, and help you pull it all together so every dollar you spend works toward a higher sale price rather than against it.

The bottom line is simple. Don’t make the number one mistake of getting everything “ready” on your own before we’ve even talked, because it could cost you money you’ll never see back at closing. One call first, and we’ll make sure the work you do pays off.

If you’re thinking about selling, reach out and let’s talk before you start. Call or text us at (919) 830-9051, email us at Cynthia@cqrealtygroup.com, or visit trianglencrealestateblog.com. We’d love to help you get it right the first time.