This would be easier if you would post an image.

I sold an all white house that had a blood red study. Wasn't an issue.

Assuming your Realtor is local, they would know what buyers expect- and what doesn't fly- for a home of this age, in your price range, and the neighborhood, in order to get your best offer.

Sorry I can't post an image as the house is located five hours away and the only available photos are from family & friends gathered for the wake.

I will say the house is kind of a plantation style look from the outside, set back from a major thoroughfare in St Paul, yet near a large park. It will be priced ~$500K, which, given it sits on an enclosed one acre and near a desirable neighborhood, and few comparable houses/as large lot sizes nearby, we think is underpriced. Hoping the realtor doesn't have an apartment developer client who's salivating for the land.

It will be priced ~$500K

YOU decide the price of the house. Don’t let the realtor decide it for you. Ask the realtor for their data and rationale for setting that price.

They are correct. All cream will make a difference. Prosectiive buyer s will more easily see their furniture and taste in a neutral blank slate.

Any realtor worth their salt is going to price a house according to a list of comps and other local variables.

People tend to overvalue the price of their own properties and want to undervalue the price of other people's properties. I personally don't know of a situation where a homeowner who insisted on setting a price that was significantly higher than that realtors came up with that actually turned out well.

Speaking as someone who lives in a 1928 home in urban Minneapolis next door, $500K for an historic home on an ACRE in the city seems low— esp if the thoroughfare is the one I think it might be. Unless it’s smaller and needs some work. I’m not a realtor and I don’t know how direct messages work here, but if able to message me the address I could give you a ballpark as to whether the list price seems reasonable for the area or not (I also know a lot of local realtors if you decide to change course). For a historic home in the city, buyers are a little more forgiving of quirky paint colors, but for quick sales @ top dollar you also don’t want their first impression upon entry to be of the work that they would need to do.

I jave my house up for sale I have some accent walls they are there to go with my stuff and honestly if I do not sell I still have to live here . I think most people (I hope) can imagine all the walls the same color . I think for me the red walls will be something to remeber that sets that house apart and might be what sells there is no way to guuess what buyers want in my experience . Pictures are helpful but is the house empty or all the furniture still there ? The red room might make sense if the decor works . Realtors in my experinece want to have everything neutral they think that sells homes I think a nice clean decluttered well cared for home sells homes not wall color in one room

I have always listed significantly lower than what realtors were suggesting to me. They have always had insane ideas of my houses being more than I knew it could fetch. If you think your realtor is listing too low, they might actually want it to sell instead of sitting on the market and the price being lowered anyway.

Do your own research. Get comps on zillow. Emotionally detach yourself from this house and look objectively. Anything sells at the right price.

The variables regarding paint also really depend a lot on the market. If things are selling fast, if there is high demand, it doesn't matter what color the paint is. If the market is slow, the paint is unattractive then you need to really step it up to get this home ready. But of course it all depends on your price.

Light yellow walls and a red dining room is a really particular taste. It would turn me off and I like old homes, BUT at the right price nobody cares about painting.

This is not a modern styled house at all and painting it all "cream" would take the character down a notch

Know your market. In general, most buyers do not want old time or historic character. They don't want an older house if they can get a newer house for the same price. (I adore and only want old, but I am not the typical buyer.) Every home I have sold or staged that is an older home I have toned down the older character so it will appeal to the widest set of buyers. Neutralize, neutralize, neutralize.

If the realtor is good, listen to them. Have your husband fix what is wrong and hire someone to paint. At the very least, please paint the dining room to match the rest of the house.

Regarding photos— could you pull the house up on Google Street View and upload a screenshot of the exterior here? If you were to post the name of the neighborhood it’s located in (or cross-streets of an intersection that’s nearby) that could also help inform whether your price is aligned with the market.

Good advice @Kendrah— in the market they are selling, historic homes in the city generally command a premium (neighborhood-dependent) and are often viewed as more desirable than builder-grade homes in the suburbs. But your points are still good— to appeal to the largest swath of buyers, it’s good to be mindful that tastes vary dramatically across different demographic groups, and any buyer will want to know that the home has been cared for/ updated while still respecting its history. Honestly the thing that makes me think the DR needs to be painted is hearing the house has white-painted woodwork, which (unless done well) has a tendency to date and/or look jarring adjacent to bold colors IMO.

Color is coming back, so the decision to paint should be based on that particular market, house style and local trends.

I vote leave it red. A dramatic dining room is desireable. And it will be memorable.

We sold at asking price. We had a barn red den and a grass green dining room. People arent as stupid as realtors say they are. Location and condition count.

historic homes in the city generally command a premium (neighborhood-dependent) and are often viewed as more desirable than builder-grade homes in the suburbs.

Yes, though cities are changing so much now. The builder-grade homes have migrated from the burbs to the city.

I have sold historic city homes and our competition both times was builder-grade city homes in gentrified neighborhoods. Young couples are so easily swayed by what I call fuxury - fake luxury. Cities are full of tear downs and new builds that a lot of buyers falsely believe will be less upkeep than an older historic home. What they don't know is that the fuxury city new homes truly are builder grade and will have as many problems as a historic home.

In both of these situations, I staged the city historic homes with a more neutral/contemporary vibe. I put half of our antique furniture into storage and mixed in crap from Home Goods. I also took out any mentions of old and historic from the listing narrative.

It worked really well. We got so many offers both from young people who, I think liked the blend of historic home and contemporary interior mix, and from older couples who liked historic. Both homes had bidding wars, while other listings on the street played up the historic vibe, had fewer showings, sat, and had to keep dropping their price.

It is usually not a bad idea to appeal to a broader audience.

"I think a nice clean decluttered well cared for home sells homes not wall color in one room"

^^ This.

My own story: I wanted to paint my kitchen bright apple-green in my last house. Some in my circle liked it, some did not -- I got comments about "think about when you sell your house..." I was planning on moving in the next handful of years, but I didnt' care, I wanted a cheerful bright green kitchen darn it! That room abutted my large living room, which was painted a rich, velvety aubergine -- how I loved that color! Didn't repaint any of it, got multiple offers on my house the first weekend. What made me chuckle at closing was the new owner mentioned how much he liked my paint colors throughout the house and asked if I was into feng shui, he thought I was based on the color combinations. Uh....no...I just like those colors.. LOL!! Moral of the story: You never know who is going to like what -- If it's tastefully done and fits the house and the house is priced appropriately, the paint won't make a difference.

Good advice already- deep red is classic for a DR (if the color was objectively unattractive then it would be a good idea to paint) so I say leave it and focus on other things ….I will say the DR in my old house is lavender so take me with a grain of salt 😅

There will be potential buyers who say they don’t like, but won’t be the reason not to buy the house. Going lighter might make the room brighter/feel larger, but there may be more important priorities. If it becomes an issue, you can always paint in one day or offer to reduce the cost of house by a few hundred dollars.

To Old House Restorer: Chatsworth. Rose Park. Former Cadillac dealer. Walls in all rooms look immaculate. House will be empty except for realtor staging.

Our concern, for friend, is we know realtors often have clients looking for certain properties. This property could easily be developed for apartments. Years ago, my dad put my deceased sister's house on the market and within one hour had FIVE offers of full price, all from landlords. Also my husband and I are looking to buy a rental in our neighborhood and our realtor told us how they have clients constantly looking to buy properties with certain attributes, for a good price. We don't want our friend to be taken advantage of.

Immaculate is the most important and sound like you've got that already.

I talked to five realtors who told me my whole house needed repainted for $18k. I told them to go pound salt.

In this case of an historic house in a high demand area, I vote for keeping dining room walls red. If you repaint the red walls, it will take at least two coats of high hide primer and two coats of the light yellow. The new light yellow walls will look cleaner than the rest of the house's yellow walls. Leave the dramatic red as it is.

It sounds like lot houses in Minneapolis are being razed to make way for apartment buildings.

This cute house would not last 10 minutes in Atherton (CA) for a mansion.

It’s not cheap to paint a pale color over deep red!

Not “ difficult” of course.

It could be useful to price painting ( assuming not DIY) because it’s then easier to offer “ painting allowance” . Meaning more, if walls/paint are in good shape, so not actually an eyesore, most people buying that property I’ll bet will repaint anyway.

So the realtor is presumably thinking “ oh, turnoff, you won’t get offers if it’s red ( plus light yellow). When if you paint it all cream, it may show lighter & more neutral but not to every taste anyway. I tend to see this kind of “ generic neutral appeal” is more important for lower- tier homes , less-special lots/ locations/ houses and less- experienced buyers— though I could be wrong.

I’m not able to say your agent’s advice is not on track for what you will experience in your market, but my own experience with RE agents is that about half of them told me to do various upgrades- paint, flooring, counters & such— that were not at all needed.

Old House Restorer: If you have figured out the house and are familiar with the neighborhood, esp that S of it, I would be very interested in your opinion. A house like this happens only in a Blue Moon, like this weekend.

I'm so sorry they are going thru this. This was my Mom's little cottage in Atherton before the Executor sold it to the highest bid and was torn down for a mega mansion. They had the interior staged prior to open house. I don't recall if it was freshly painted but probably. Sad to see it go.

Please don't show your friend this.

A house is worth what someone wants to pay. It's a question of time and money.

Despite, "elegant", few today want yellow or red paint. You could argue the virtues of these paint colors all day long, but people view painting as a daunting / arduous task....and they only appeal to the most traditional folks.

It's going to be empty but for staging by the realtor.. so those walls will not be absorbed into a " design logic" by the traditional, equally elegant furnishings, rugs, soft window treatments that echo the flavor of your dear friend. You will probably pass out when you see listing photo's. Paint it............or be prepared to wait it out, or take the hit.

Once, listed? Nobody "owns" the house anymore......: )

This would be an entirely different scenario if showing the house fully furnished with her belongings. edited to best advantage etc.You won't have this or anything close, when staged.

Leave it red and do not paint AND get another realtor as I feel you have lost confidence in this one already. As a home buyer of many homes I have painted every one of them to suit my style and taste and when I see a room with a paint colour I don't like I always say-it is just paint. Don't waste your money.

Just a note this was my kitchen in my last house the first realtor we had said thta kitchen will never sell he was right with him as arealtor it did not sell we got a new realtor 10 days later over ask the kitchen sold the house and when those buyers sold 8 yrs later the kitchen sold the house . leave the red please

Red paint on walls is totally different than lacquered red cabinets. Both are a design statement, but red paint can be changed relatively easily. Shiny red cabinets would be a hard "no" for me. But there's always a buyer for everything, and you only need one.

Whether the red paint on the walls is a deterrent to selling depends on the market. In a high demand market, no one will care what color the walls are. In a market with oversupply, buyers are more discerning. Which one applies to you?

I’m struggling to place the house’s location— Chatsworth is a long street, and I’m not familiar with a Rose Park (Chatsworth intersects with a Roselawn Ave in Roseville, or are you referring to the rose garden in Como Park?). I definitely am invested and happy to share thoughts if you can help me narrow down a general vicinity!

I bought an old house with a red dining room. I'd never have picked red for my DR, but I love it. Don't forget that if you have curtains, you're going to need new ones to stage the house. Sometimes rooms echo without curtains or furniture.

My house came with a yellow LR with a pony wall to the red DR. It was easy to find something that worked (a really lovely EA sofa in a great upholstery) to blend the two together.

The question for your realtor is whether the cost of painting everything cream (which is warm white and not beige) will be worth it. It's not cheap to paint everything. Also, it will take time. I'd list it ASAP in case our wonderful president drives the economy into recession, which appears to be the direction it's going.

Red walls are very on trend on 2025 trend lists…

Houses sell based on location and general condition of the home. Look for homes in the area that have sold in the past 6 months are similar in the same neighborhood or similar close neighborhood, age, size/square footage and general condition to determine the price that the home should sell for.

Knowing the selling points for your home is important.

Often having something that makes your home stand out against the crowd is what makes it sell. You don't need 40 buyers, you need the one who will fall in love. If there are 20 beige homes for sale your home for sale that is one of 20.

This is not a modern home, it is historic.

Selling it with that in mind you can write it up as having a "designer selected historic color palette" and emphasize the other classic features.

My last home was a pretty standard 1970s suburban ranch home in California.

Every realtor told me to spend money on renovations including painting everything neutral.

Instead, I made sure everything looked well maintained. I had a home inspection before putting it on the market to make sure all the things that needed to be repaired would be repaired before the potential buyers had an inspection and found things.

I knew my home had 2 major selling points - the school district and the large back yard (double the space of most backyards in the area.)

I sold my house in 3 days at when the market was moderate with an average of 30 days on the market before entering escrow. I priced it based on sq. footage for our neighborhood and added 3% as a buffer, knowing most people wouldn't offer full price in that market. I had 3 offers with the best coming in at 99% of ask - virtually full price and over market price.

I didn't try to compete with all the beige and white homes for sale. I knew people with kids wanted this neighborhood. I emphasized the things that would be important to families with kids.

• Located on a quiet cul-de-sac, walking distance to xyz elementary, middle school and HS all part of the desireable xyz School District.
• Large back yard with plenty of room for kids to play (showed pics of the back yard and the pic above showing how large the back yard was)
• Close to Community Park (Pool, Tennis)
• Features kid friendly interior colors selected by xyz design company.
• Minutes from xyz Cal State campus, restaurants, freeway access and more

What draws people to the neighborhood where this home sits? If it is that the homes are historic I would want to keep that feeling and not make it feel like an old version of new builds.

Old House Restorer: Larpenteur W, N of Coumo P. Blue Moon is there today.

Blue Moon ended at 3. You could stll maybe go and look around inside, though. Drive around to the back, knock on the back door and ssk for Paul. Tell him you've been in conversation with Anne, looking for your expert advice. 968

The realtor doesn’t sound like she/he has experience with historic homes. They are attractive to a specific group of people who appreciate quirks, not completely square walls and doorways plus decor with character. I would leave the dining room red and see what happens.

I‘ve never even noticed ( or cared about ) the color of the walls in any house I’ve purchased. Location is paramount for me, with floorplan second.