Painting is the remodeling project Realtors most often suggest sellers complete before listing, according to the National Association of Realtors' 2025 Remodeling Impact Report, in which 50% of Realtors recommended painting the entire home and 41% suggested painting a single interior room. Wade Paint Co., a residential painting company, said that finding matters for Charleston-area sellers planning a spring listing, after the metro's median listing time climbed to 61 days in September.
The Remodeling Impact Report, produced with the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and released in April 2025, asks Realtors which projects they suggest sellers take on before a home goes on the market. Installing new roofing ranked third at 37%, behind painting the entire home and painting a single interior room. Those percentages count how often agents suggest a project.
Wade Paint Co. handles that painting work through a pre-sale painting service for homeowners preparing to sell. Each project starts with an on-site walkthrough, where the company's owner looks over the condition of the paint and talks through the seller's listing timeline. The work can cover interior walls, trim, cabinets and ceilings, along with exterior siding, trim and the front entry.
In the Charleston-North Charleston metro area, Realtor.com listing data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis put the median days on market at 71 in January 2026. The figure fell each month through April, when it reached 44, the lowest reading of the year so far, and then rose every month from May through August. The measure is the midpoint of how long listings stay on the market before going under contract or coming off it, so a rising number means homes are taking longer to sell. Wade Paint Co. plans each project around the seller's target listing date and aims to finish the painting before photography and showings begin.
National research points to spring as well. Zillow's analysis of 2025 sales in the 35 largest U.S. metro areas, published in March 2026, found that homes listed in the last two weeks of May sold for 1.7% more nationally, or about $6,000 more on a typical U.S. home, though the local market was not among those studied. Either the local April low or Zillow's late-May window leaves a seller the winter months for repairs and painting.
Sellers also have to settle on colors. In a Zillow survey released in June 2026, more than 4,400 recent and prospective buyers were randomly assigned images of a home with interior rooms painted in one of 11 colors and asked to estimate what they would offer. Sage green was the only color to place in Zillow's first tier in every room. Zillow estimated that an ochre yellow kitchen could reduce offers by $6,630.
The Zillow figures are survey estimates of buyer perception rather than results from completed sales. Buyers in the survey reacted to images of rooms instead of houses they walked through, and Zillow's release told sellers to check with a local agent before picking colors. The color consultation included in Wade Paint Co.'s service is meant to help sellers choose neutral colors.
Homes built before 1978 may contain lead-based paint. Under the Environmental Protection Agency's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces in those homes must be certified, and their employees must be trained in lead-safe work practices. Wade Paint Co. follows all applicable EPA RRP lead-safe work practices when working on pre-1978 homes.
"The days-on-market numbers tell a seller when to list, but the walls tell a buyer how the house was kept. Sellers usually spend their energy on the color card and very little on what's underneath it. Nail holes, old touch-up spots and dings in the trim are what a buyer notices walking through in person, and a fresh coat over them only makes them easier to see. Most of a good pre-sale paint job happens before the first coat goes on," said Elliott Hall, owner of Wade Paint Co.
Wade Paint Co. can be reached at (843) 474-5353. Ratings and comments from the company's customers are available for review on its Google profile.
About Wade Paint Co.
Wade Paint Co. is a licensed, bonded, and insured residential and commercial painting company founded in 2019 and headquartered at 10 Wesley Dr, Charleston, SC 29407. The company serves homeowners across the Charleston, SC metro area, including Mount Pleasant, West Ashley, Daniel Island, James Island, Sullivan's Island, and the surrounding communities. Services include exterior painting, interior painting, cabinet refinishing, deck and fence staining, pressure washing, wood rot repair, and historic home restoration. Wade Paint Co. was named a Charleston's Best Finalist in 2022 and 2023 and has earned more than 84 five-star reviews. More information is available at https://wadepaintco.com.
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For more information about Wade Paint Co., contact the company here:
Wade Paint Co.
Elliott Hall
(843) 474-5353
contact@wadepaintco.com
10 Wesley Dr, Charleston, SC 29407
