The Hue of Luxury: The Art & Science of Choosing Colors for Stunning Real Estate Websites

What’s in a color? In the world of branding, a lot as it turns out. Just take a look at the hoopla that surrounds Pantone’s Color of the Year announcement.

That’s because your brand is a reflection of your real estate business’ personality. Put another way, colors say who you are without you having to speak.

So selecting the colors for your website is no small matter: it’s one of the first things people notice about your site and can shape their first impression of you. This is especially true if you’re a luxury agent who wants to exude sophistication and excellent taste with your website. If you select the wrong colors, your website will send the wrong message — and might just send prospects searching for other agents or brokers who align with their taste.

Which begs the question: how do you select a color palette? Get ready to unpack the art and science of choosing colors for luxury real estate websites.

Factors to consider when choosing your brand colors

The last thing you want is to have a color palette that diminishes the prestige of your luxury real estate brand. So if you’re commissioning a new website and want to refresh its colors, here are some things to keep in mind.

• Is it right for your brand?
  Luxury real estate agents are a monolithic bloc. Even within this rarefied industry segment, there are various agents with different personalities. There are veterans and relative neophytes; there are those who focus on discretion and those who revel in the finer things. You have to have a deep understanding of your brand to select colors that reflect it accurately.

• Does it match your existing brand assets?
  Chances are, you’re porting assets like logos over to your new website. Now is a great time to ask: do the colors you’re interested in play nice with it? Few website revamps are 100% from scratch, so make sure both new and old elements harmonize with each other.

• Are your preferred hues in line with color psychology?
  In a nutshell, color psychology believes that colors can elicit concrete psychological and physical reactions from people. Know what your brand wants to evoke and choose colors that align with it. For instance, blue is cool and calming, denoting trustworthiness; meanwhile, red is associated with verve and vigor and naturally connotes excitement. For a deep dive into color psychology, check out this informative blog.

• What are your competitors’ signature colors?
  If you want your color scheme to stand out, take a look at what other luxury agents in your area are doing. This way, you can guarantee that you don’t replicate what they’re already doing. It’s also an opportunity to zag when everyone zigs, so to speak.

• Does it foster good user experience?
  Yes, a green-text-on-red background color combination certainly stands out, but is it easy on the eyes or compliant with basic accessibility rules? In color palette selection, form is just as important as function, so don’t let your chosen hues hinder readability and usability. Of course, bold colors used judiciously is not only a good idea but good practice, too — case in point: using colors like red or orange for call-to-action buttons.

Mastering the color wheel

You may remember the color wheel from art class back in the day, but now it’s time to revisit it through the lens of color theory.

The color wheel is a simple but powerful tool in helping you select the best color palette for your luxury real estate website. More specifically, it shows you the relationships between different colors and how they might harmonize with each other.

In general, the wheel is split between cool (blue, green, purple) and warm (red, orange, yellow) colors. It's in how these color groups combine and contrast where the magic happens.

Here are a couple of examples of color palettes that you can implement on your site:

• Monochromatic — Stick to one “slice” of the color wheel and focus on the different variations in tint and saturation within that group.

• Analogous color schemes — Uses colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

• Complementary color schemes — Pick colors at the opposite ends of the color wheel.

• Double complementary color schemes — Practically the same as the above, but uses two opposing color groups.

• Triadic complementary color schemes — This palette uses alternating “slices” of the color wheel.

Whichever option you utilize here’s a bit of sound advice: follow the 60-30-10 rule. That is, pick a primary color to be used for 60% of your website, then choose a secondary color that accounts for 30%, followed by a hue used 10% of the time as an accent color. This prevents a color palette that has too many colors competing for attention at any given time.

Putting theories into practice

Of course, the best way to fine-tune your color sensibilities is to see how high-profile luxury agents use color schemes to elevate their brands. Luckily, Agent Image can give you insight into the color selections for these VIP clients:

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  The Oppenheim Group
  Not only does this team star in the Netflix hit “Selling Sunset,” but it’s also a pro at choosing deluxe colors. Its grayscale-inspired palette immediately calls to mind quiet luxury, while the skillful use of red adds a lively kick to the site.

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  Grauman + Rosenfeld
  Classic black-and-white gets a contemporary makeover on this website. These two colors are used strategically to highlight portals for buyers and sellers, as well as compellingly written content.

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  Mahsheed Parsons
  Mahsheed.com demonstrates how a low-key color palette can work as an effective canvas for colorful videos and photos of Las Vegas luxury real estate. Further highlighting her expertise in the deluxe market are champagne accent colors.

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  The Altman Brothers
  Excellent color palettes evoke a mood, something that The Altman Brothers’ website understands. Its dark tones are reminiscent of twilight photography — a technique used to highlight the prestige and exclusivity of luxury properties.

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  Serio Estates
  SerioEstates.com looks beyond the color wheel by incorporating gilded touches into it, which perfectly complements the black-and-white palette. The result is a polished look that’s classic and deluxe without being gaudy.

Show your true colors

We hope that this piece helps get a better understanding not just of color palettes and color theory, but also about the brand you want to express to the world. But if you need help refining your color scheme, our designers and art directors will be more than happy to create a bespoke palette for you.

For a FREE consultation, call 1.800.979.5799
or send a message here.