What Home Buyers Share vs. What They Actually Pay For

No matter what city you’re in or what time of year you’re selling, there’ll always be some home features that are more popular than others.

Don’t assume that more attention online means more money when you sell, though. Zillow looked at hundreds of home features to determine whether they help a home sell for more money compared to similar homes, or if they just get more clicks. We measured the latter using the Zillow Buzz Index, which is basically a single number created from a blend of a listing’s daily views, saves, and shares. Then, the Index boils it down into one figure.

The specific things that help a home sell versus the ones that don’t might surprise you. For example, a home with exposed beams got more buyer engagement online, but that feature didn't boost the seller's profit as much as its online buzz might have suggested.

Here’s our list of what can (and can’t) help you sell:

Features that help your home get attention

Exposed beams, exposed brick, open shelving, a Victorian-style property, and a treehouse were all among the most features that generated the most daily buyer engagement in our analysis. Home shoppers love how these look — but, they don't help you sell for more. It may be helpful to include them in your listing photos if you already have them (attention is still attention), but don't pour money into adding them with the intent of getting a return on investment.

Exposed beams and exposed brick

Rustic features are pretty popular online. Exposed beams can boost a home’s daily buyer engagement by about 20%. That’s most of any feature in the analysis. Exposed brick came in second, with 15% more daily buyer engagement than expected for a similar home. 

However, neither feature did much to help homes sell. In fact, properties that mentioned exposed beams in their listings took almost a day longer to go to pending compared to similar homes that didn’t have that feature.

Open shelving

Skipping cabinet doors in favor of a more open look can get your home a whole lot of attention: about 15% more daily buyer engagement than similar homes without open shelving. Yet when it comes to people wanting to own said doorless cabinets, they aren’t as popular. Homes that mention open shelving take about two days longer to go to pending, and the open shelving has almost no effect on the sale price. It could be that open shelves take some work to look nice: Matching sets of dishes and well-organized stacks are what make this feature look good. Plus, you’d have to keep dusting all your dishes since there aren’t any doors to help keep dust out!

Victorian style

With their iconic rooflines, bay windows, and wraparound porches, Victorian-era homes are a classic style that’s becoming harder to find. This type of architecture can boost a home’s daily buyer engagement by 19% — but, it can hurt the sale price by 1.5%, which may be significant when dealing with high six figures.

The reasons vary. The home may be showing signs of age in person, or it may have issues with outdating electrical and plumbing. 

Treehouse

Lots of people once dreamt (or still dream) about having their very own treehouse. Using the keyword “treehouse” on Zillow will yield all sorts of homes and their different takes on this DIY-inspired style. They also generate nearly 15% more daily buyer engagement than the competition. 

Treehouse enthusiasts aren’t necessarily buying these properties, though. While the daily buyer engagement for this term is among the highest in our analysis, it’s also associated with keeping homes on the market for nearly two days longer. Most buyers may not be looking to put their money towards living in a treehouse full-time if it's less practical than a traditional home. 

Features that help your home sell for more

These are the features tied to the strongest sale-price premiums, even though several of them get relatively little love in daily buyer engagement. These are the substantial, high-quality, or location-driven details that buyers pay for, even when they don't obsess over them online.

Dock

A dock was tied to the single largest jump in sale price of any feature we looked at: about 5% more than a comparable home without one. On a $400,000 home, that's an extra $21,600.

But, there’s a trade-off: Because the pool of buyers for a waterfront home is smaller, listings including a dock tend to take longer to go to pending — specifically a day and a half longer. It didn’t draw many eyeballs online, either. Docks landed at just 5% more daily buyer engagement. Bottom line: A dock might mean fewer admirers and a longer wait, but also a higher sale price. 

Quartzite

Some upgrades make you choose between looks and value. Quartzite doesn't. Homes that mentioned this feature sold for about 5% more than a comparable listing, one of the largest premiums in the analysis. It also pulled in roughly 10.9% more daily buyer engagement. It's the rare feature that buyers love to see and will pay for.

Outdoor kitchen and outdoor shower

Buyers are paying more for homes that let them enjoy the outside of their property, too. An outdoor kitchen and an outdoor shower were each tied to roughly 4% more in sale price. They’re also both features that people liked to show to others: the outdoor kitchen earned 7% more daily buyer engagement than similar homes, and the outdoor shower 9% more. The buyers who want an outdoor kitchen or shower really want it, and they'll pay for it. 

White oak flooring

Not every home feature that adds value is obvious or loud. White oak flooring is a quiet one. It drew only modest attention online, with about 5% more daily buyer engagement than a comparable home. But quiet can also mean profit: White oak floors were tied to roughly 3.6% more in sale price.

This feature’s warm, timeless look might signal quality to the buyers who notice, and they tend to reward it when making an offer.