Paint is the top pre-sale project
In NAR's 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, the No. 1 project agents recommend before selling is painting the entire home (50% of agents), followed by painting one interior room (41%) (NAR 2025). In NAR's 2021 staging report, 63% of agents recommended painting walls and 58% paint touch-ups (NAR 2021). Painting one room also scored a 9.3 out of 10 on NAR's homeowner “Joy Score.”
Which colors?
Two sources, two answers, and both are worth knowing:
- Agents still favor neutrals. In a Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate survey cited by NAR, 84% of agents said whites, grays and beiges remain top choices, and three in four said repainting the interior adds the most value before a sale (NAR).
- Buyers in Zillow's 2025 study liked some darker colors. Zillow surveyed 4,200+ buyers using photos of the same home in different colors. Buyers said they'd pay more for an olive green kitchen (+$1,597), a navy blue bedroom (+$1,815) and a dark gray living room (+$2,593), and less for a daisy yellow kitchen (−$3,915) and fire-hydrant red living rooms and bedrooms (Zillow). That's stated willingness to pay in a survey, not actual sale prices.
The safe read: clean, fresh and intentional beats bold and personal. A muted, grounded color in a room or two can work; bright, saturated colors are the ones the data says to cover.
Where to focus
NAR's 2025 staging report found the living room matters most to buyers (37%), followed by the primary bedroom (34%) and kitchen (23%) (NAR). Start there.
- Cover the bold colors and kids' room themes.
- Fix before you paint: patch nail holes, cracks and water stains; prime stains so they don't bleed through.
- Trim and doors: scuffed trim reads as worn. Fresh semi-gloss is a fast upgrade (see our sheen guide).
- Ceilings with water stains raise questions for buyers and inspectors. Find and fix the leak, then prime and paint.
Minnesota timing
Interior painting works year-round, but plan ventilation in winter when windows stay closed (EPA advises increased ventilation when using VOC-emitting products, EPA). In homes built before 1978, scraping or sanding old paint brings in lead-safe rules (EPA), which can affect your timeline.
What it costs
Angi puts painting a room in Minneapolis at $1,153 on average (Angi Minneapolis). For a full breakdown, see what interior painting costs in the Twin Cities. Getting ready to list? We handle pre-listing paint and repair lists on your timeline; see handyman services and pre-listing repairs worth doing.