Living in Colorado

The #1 Colors to Increase Curb Appeal and the Selling Price of Your Home

We just talked about what colors to paint every room in your house to increase its value (Read that post here!) but what about the exterior?

You don’t need a touchscreen refrigerator, a WiFi-enabled thermostat or color-changing light bulbs to pump up the sale price of your home.

In fact, all you need is a black door.

That’s according to online real estate database Zillow, which released an analysis Wednesday after examining some 135,000 photos from listings across the U.S. since 2010. Zillow found that on average, houses with black or charcoal gray front doors sold for as much as $6,271 more than expected.

“For a seller, painting a front door is one the least expensive home prep projects, but also one that can have a powerful impact on a home’s sale price,” Zillow design expert Kerrie Kelly said in a news release. “While cool, neutral wall colors like tan and light blue are still popular, we’re seeing a notable shift in home design where pops of color — particularly in darker hues of blue and gray to even black — are becoming increasingly popular.”

It may sound weird, but painting your front door black is actually a tried-and-true way of increasing home value. According to Realtor.com, a black door gives buyers the impression that your house is a serious, stately and safe choice. It’s so popular that two of Sherwin-Williams’ top 50 paint colors fit the bill: Peppercorn and Tricorn Black.

Plus, fixing up your house before putting it on the market is just a good move in general: HGTV says exterior improvements, when done right, have a return on investment of more than 95%.

For the full story, visit Time.com