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The Street

Samanda Dorger

The Features Home Buyers Search for Most

Zillow

Back in 2016, subway tile was hot. These days, it's a garage.

A Zillow analysis of homes sold in those halcyon days of historically low mortgage rates seven years ago found that listings with keywords like “subway tile,” “barn doors” and “farmhouse sink” sold faster and for more money. They were hot home features.

But back in 2016, mortgage rates averaged 3.65%, and today, with few homes available and higher mortgage rates making affordability a far greater challenge, homebuyers’ specific wants and needs are more restrained.

They’re not searching for subway tile anymore.

A new analysis of property listing descriptions found that home shoppers are more interested in space and a place to park their car.

International real estate search portal Point2 Homes examined 52 million words found in descriptions of over 730,000 properties listed on their site nationwide in 2022. By analyzing the most widely used words, the study revealed which terms U.S. real estate agents mentioned the most when describing properties across major geographical regions and various price segments, thereby unveiling the terminology used to attract certain types of home-seekers.

The No. 1 word for both house and condominium shoppers was “garage.”

Spaciousness also defined 2022’s home descriptions: Keywords addressing the need for more “room,” “space,” and an “open floor plan” were the most widely used to attract homebuyers, the analysis found.

There are still some five million buyers out there: By the end of 2022, Zillow expects 5.1 million existing homes to be sold--a 16% decrease compared to 2021. Not surprisingly, those high mortgage rates and major affordability challenges are predicted to drive weaker sales in 2023, according to Zillow (ZG).

The share of first-time home buyers has dropped to a record low, according to a November report by the National Association of Realtors, which found that 26% of buyers were first-time buyers, down from 34% in 2021. As for what they’re looking for, 37% cited overall affordability; about half of buyers cited quality of the neighborhood, and 41% of recent buyers who purchased new homes were looking to avoid renovations and problems with plumbing or electricity. About 14% of home buyers purchased a multigenerational home.

Here is the ranking of the most popular keywords for home features and amenities from property descriptions across the country from Point2 Homes. The ranking is based on the keywords used the most for both houses and condos.