How Much Does It Cost to Repaint a House?

What Repainting Actually Costs in 2026

A single-story exterior repaint averages $3,177 nationally. Most homeowners land between $1,819 and $4,551. Per square foot: $1.50 to $4.00 outside, $2 to $6 inside. A full interior repaint on a 2,000 square foot home runs $4,000 to $8,500.

Labor is where the money goes: 60% to 80% of a professional job, at $25 to $100 per painter per hour. Paint itself is the smaller cost, $20 to $80+ per gallon, and a single-story house needs 10 to 15 gallons.

Three things push the bill up fast. A second story adds up to 50% for ladders, lifts, and risk. Heavy scraping and sanding adds 20% to 50% to labor. Lead paint testing and removal, common in older homes, runs $8 to $17 per square foot, and wood rot repair adds $200 to $1,000 or more per spot. Those prep costs can quietly double your original quote.

The Repaint-to-Sell Math Most Sellers Get Wrong

Here's the mistake: spend repaint money before listing, assume you get it all back at closing. You won't. Sellers typically recoup only 50% to 70% of exterior paint costs in the sale price. Run the math on a real job: a $4,000 exterior repaint returns roughly $2,000 to $2,800 at sale. That's a $1,200 to $2,000 loss, before you count the extra time the project adds to your listing timeline.

Repainting still earns its keep in specific cases. If paint is peeling, chipping, or exposing bare wood, it shows up in photos and inspection reports. Wood siding only holds paint for 3 to 7 years. If you do paint, choose neutral, modern colors and put the money where buyers look: entryways, kitchens, living rooms. A $200 to $500 DIY refresh of one or two key rooms often beats a full whole-house job.

Sell the House Without Funding a Repaint

If the repaint math doesn't work for you, you don't have to fund it to sell. With Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. Faded or dated paint doesn't rule out a sale; on Premium, the buyer's lender determines whether any paint work is required. Your home may be listed through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings.

Here's the practical difference: instead of writing a $3,000-plus check to a painting crew before you can sell, you can compare both offers before deciding what works for you. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. With Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with repair costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share. With Fast Cash, we buy as-is, with no repairs for you to make. See how selling a Florida house in its current condition works.

The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. On Premium, your buyer signs a new contract directly with you, title transfers directly to that buyer, and their lender funds the purchase. We are paid as a separate line item on the closing statement.

Here's what selling with Cash Flow Deals looks like when you'd rather skip the repaint:

1. Cash Flow Deals reviews your house in its current paint condition and presents the Fast Cash Offer and Premium Cash Offer together, with no scraping, priming, or repainting required before that review. You choose.

2. You get both offers back within 24 hours, so you can compare them before you spend a dollar on paint. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens.

3. The existing closing option is 45 days or less, on a date you help pick; your written agreement sets the schedule for the offer you choose. Premium depends on the buyer's lender requirements and mortgage underwriting. If the buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number or continue with the Premium Cash Offer if financing is resolved.