According to a Zillow report, homes with blue bathrooms sell for a premium, while those with chalk-white bathrooms sell for less. Behr

Looking to boost your home’s resale value? It could be a simple as buying a bucket of paint. According to a recent analysis from the real estate listing site Zillow, homes with walls painted in shades of blue or light gray may sell for as much as a $5,400 premium.

The company’s 2017 Paint Color Analysis examined more than 32,000 photos of recently sold homes to see how walls with certain paint colors performed versus walls painted white.

Homeowners that painted their bathrooms blue (often powder blue or light periwinkle) netted $5,440 more than expected, according to the analysis. Other cool neutrals like pale gray or oatmeal also performed well.

Exterior colors also had an impact in the analysis. An exterior coat of “greige” (a mix of light gray and beige) could yield a sales bump of $3,496 when compared to medium brown or tan stucco. For the ultimate low-impact change, painting a front door dark navy blue to slate gray could get an extra $1,514 out of a sale.

“Color can be a powerful tool for attracting buyers to a home, especially in listing photos and videos,” says Svenja Gudell, Zillow chief economist. “Painting walls in fresh, natural-looking colors, particularly in shades of blue and pale gray not only make a home feel larger, but also are neutral enough to help future buyers envision themselves living in the space. Incorporating light blue in kitchens and bathrooms may pay off especially well as the color complements white countertops and cabinets, a growing trend in both rooms.”

A word of caution, though: not all colors are created equal, and some could even turn off potential buyers. Darker and more décor-specific wall colors (like terracotta in a dining room) dropped a home’s price by about $2,031 in the analysis.

The worst offender? A chalk-white bathroom. Homes with these sold for an average of $4,035 below similar homes.

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