You know what they say about real estate: “Location, location, paint job.” But seriously, compared to other home improvement projects, it’s easy to change the color of your house—and not many updates will yield as much impact for the money.

WHEN SHOULD YOU PAINT?

Let’s see, how can I put this delicately: Is the color of your house obnoxious? Personality and individualism are great things. No one wants to live in a world where every house looks the same. But your house should stand out in your neighborhood for all the right reasons, not stand out like a sore thumb.

If you’re asking yourself right now whether the color of your house is objectionable, and if it could be negatively affecting your home’s value, then the answer to both those questions is probably yes. But there’s nothing to worry about because you’re gonna love the strikingly beautiful hues of creamy white, pale gray, neutral navy, desaturated green and even bronze that are so hot today. Even better, they’ll also stand the test of time.

WHY SHOULD YOU PAINT?

Aesthetics aside, painting is a maintenance item. A good paint job protects your house from Tampa’s brutal elements—relentless sun, high humidity, salty air, heavy rains, hurricane season, you get my drift.

Paint keeps mold and mildew at bay by keeping moisture out of the wood, siding and other building materials. Keeping to a good painting schedule will help ensure your home retains its value, while not doing so can diminish your value quite a bit.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU PAINT?

Don’t you hate it when you ask a simple question and get a useless answer like “It depends”? I know I do. How often you need to paint depends on the cladding, whether it’s in the direct sun, how bad off the current paint job is, things like that. That said, the experts say you should plan on painting every five years give or take.

• Stained wood siding—every 4 years

• Painted wood siding—every 5 years

• Aluminum siding—every 5 years

• Stucco—every 5 years

• Cement fiberboard siding—every 12 years

• Painted brick—every 17 years

• Brick—never (just hose it down every now and then)

DOES PAINTING ADD VALUE?

Trends in exterior colors change every 15-ish years, so if you recently bought a house and plan on staying put for a while, what’s popular will likely change again before you sell. In this case, you’d add major curb appeal with a fresh paint job, and more importantly you’d protect your investment, but you wouldn’t necessarily be adding a ton of extra value.

However! If you’re contemplating selling, that’s a whole different story. A recent HomeLight survey of 900 realtors revealed that freshly painting your house before you put it on the market costs $2803 but adds $4228 in value—that’s an ROI of 51%.

Budget-friendly pro tip: You can spice up your house hues without repainting the whooole thing. Adding pops of color via trim, shutters, front door or a smaller part of the house is a great way to infuse personality on a dime.

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

Whether you want a shade more suited to your environment, or you’re going for a timeless color that will add value to your home, or you want to protect your biggest investment—painting your house is almost never a bad idea.

Christy Rosen Clement is a Pricing Strategy Advisor®, Seller Representative Specialist®, Military Relocation Professional® and REALTOR® at Palermo Real Estate Professionals in South Tampa