Eight seconds.

That’s all the time it takes for a home buyer to make a home buying decision, advises real estate authority Barbara Corcoran.

The power of curbside appeal is no secret. Why not frontload the buyer’s first impression as much as possible? Landscaping? Lighting? On-trend facade? Check, check, and check.

Zillow’s home trends expert Amanda Pendleton says snap judgements are understandable. “Buyers navigate a complex environment with a lot of uncertainty,” she explains. “Seemingly minor touches can make a big difference in the way a potential buyer views and values a home.”

Consider the front door, for example.

“A front door is often the first thing that captures a buyer’s eye,” says Pendelton. “Visual cues like color can have an outsize impact.”

But what color? Researchers have investigated the question. They examined what colors are a turn-on or turn-off to recent and prospective home buyers. The polarity of the results is striking: It’s love or hate at first sight.

Color elicits more than a visceral reaction. The front door color carries big dollar implications for margin-saving builders. A look at several surveyed colors:

• Slate Blue. Front doors in a chalky light blue-gray color is the overall survey champ. A door in slate blue can add on average of $1,537 to the home price.

• Black. While not scoring as well in overall popularity, black fetched on average a whopping $6,449 extra for the home price.

• Forest Green. An internal Houzz data search this year detected a 20% surge of forest green front door searches. The is over and above a similar leap in search activity for the same color last year.

• Pale Pink. Sorry Barbie, pink is a big survey loser, with recent and prospective home buyers using terms like “shabby looking” to describe pale pink front doors. The dollar effect: A $6,516 deduction in home sale price.

Home building presents challenges enough without turning “one little thing” into an inadvertent red flag for home buyers. Playing it safe with well-reviewed colors is the smart play, especially in today’s high-interest, high-cost home selling environment.

In fact, turning the front door into a high-value selling feature is an even better idea. For all-around appeal, fiberglass doors earn top marks. For example, fiberglass front doors from Plastpro, a leading manufacturer, offer home builders and installation contractors:

• Moisture resistance with patented HydroShield Technology, preventing warping, delamination, corrosion, rotting and mold/mildew formation.

• Proven resilience to extreme weather and break-ins.

• Design diversity across a variety of aesthetic styles, door heights, textures, glass inserts, and accessories such as clavos, hinge straps, dentil shelfs and speakeasies?

No one can guarantee a builder immunity from a make-or-break “8 second test.” But you can certainly stack the cards in your favor with fiberglass front doors from Plastpro.

Learn how fiberglass doors from Plastpro offer home buyers more affordability, value, and long-term durability.