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£1,400 cost of poor colour schemes

Tuesday, 20 February 2007 12:00 AM

Making a poor choice over what colour you paint the interior of your home will devalue your property by an average of £1,392, new research reveals.

The survey from Privilege Insurance finds a third of estate agents say an "unfavourable" interior colour scheme would knock a minimum of £1,000 off the sale price of a home.

One in ten agents goes even further, saying a bad colour scheme would see a property lose £3,000.

As to what colour to paint your home to avoid devaluing it, 70 per cent of agents say homeowners should go for magnolia - but only 37 per cent of households choose this colour.

In contrast, estate agents rank a red or orange colour scheme as the worst.

"Not only do we all carry conscious, personal colour preferences, colour also evokes an unconscious response in us all, so you risk 'turning off' potential purchasers through the colours you choose in your home," explained Andrea Mountford, a colour psychologist and interior designer.

Ms Mountford said magnolia's success was down to its ability to give "a heightened perception of space" as well as projecting "cleanliness and optimism".

James Gore of Privilege Insurance added: "As the housing market is very competitive, making internal changes can give homeowners a real competitive advantage when selling their home.

"However, it's important to remember that if homeowners are going to make significant changes they also need to inform their insurer, as it may lead to a change to their policy."

To assist people in making informed decisions about the effect of colour schemes on viewers Privilege Insurance have launched a colour mood chart available from www.privilege.com

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