I've been watching the market here for two years. I've found that homes that have kitchens that have not been remodeled in the last 10 years, and houses with dark or bright wild colors on lots of walls, or lots of wallpaper, tend to sit on the market and the sellers have to keep lowering the prices. I guess they think it's too much expense to paint, but if it cost them $2000 to have the entire interior painted, they'd make that back, and more, by not having the hose stay on the market for so long and having to lower the sales price! Buyers just don't want to fool with painting, unless they can talk the seller down on the price because they're anticipating how much time and effort it would be to have it painted.
But there seems to be a ceiling for homes that are comparable to ours, but that have kitchens that have not been updated. NONE of them from 2000-2500sf in size are going for over $500K, and most are going for more like $440-475K. Buyers really discount the sales price if they know they're going to have to have that kind of work done.