SEATTLE, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- After a year
of eating at home -- and finding escapism in the form of freshly
baked bread or desserts -- home buyers want the professional
features and equipment to take their cooking to the next level. New
Zillow research finds buyers are willing to pay a premium for
luxury kitchen amenities. From professional appliances to quartz
countertops, six out of the top 10 features mentioned in listings
that sold for more than expected in 2020 are kitchen-related.
Steam ovens were the hottest feature of the year, associated
with a 4.9% premium -- more than any other home feature and style
Zillow analyzed. The sale premium for steam ovens increased one
percentage point from Zillow's analysis the year before, and jumped
up 24 spots on the list.
"The life changes triggered by the pandemic have caused everyone
to reconsider what's most important about their homes, and that's
reflected in the shifting importance of home features measured by
sale price premiums," says Zillow Home Trends Expert Amanda
Pendleton. "It's clear that buyers were especially drawn to useful
and beautiful kitchen features in 2020, even more than in a typical
home shopping season."
Other kitchen features associated with a price premium include
"new appliances" (3.2% higher sale price), and "smart appliances"
(3%). Listings mentioning "open shelving," a trendy design feature
made popular by home improvement TV shows, sold about six days
faster than expected. Driven by the pandemic trend of dining
in and entertaining at home, listings mentioning "pizza ovens" sell
for 3.4% more than expected -- jumping 41 spots from last year to
become the feature with the fourth highest price premium.
Beautiful and durable countertops continue to be a priority for
homebuyers, with listings mentioning "quartz" selling for 3.2% more
than expected. And the non-porous quality of quartz makes it more
resistant to bacteria, making it a great choice to keep the kitchen
as germ-free as possible. Similarly, "butcher block" was tied to a
2.7% sale premium, and listings mentioning Carrara marble sold five
days quicker than expected.
"Consumers are always looking for ways to make the kitchen more
functional, more organized, easy to clean and, of course, more
beautiful. While adjusting to the new 'at home' lifestyle, we
quickly learned what a hub of the home the kitchen really is," says
Kerrie Kelly, Zillow home design
expert. "New innovative appliances have brought additional smart
features, while durability still holds high importance for
beautiful hard working surfaces."
Buyers are also increasingly interested in creating a spa vibe
at home through luxury bathroom amenities. Bathroom features that
contributed a higher-than-expected sale are "curbless," as in
showers with no barrier to step over (3.6%), and heated floors
(3.2%). A free-standing bathtub came in just under the top 10 list
of amenities, but still is associated with a 2.6% price
premium.
"This research identifies the trending features buyers value
during the pandemic. This spring home shopping season, sellers
would be wise to flaunt those features in their listing description
if they've got them," said Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker. "It's important to mention that
this research did not look at return on investment for these
features. Instead, they should be viewed as signals that the home
may be generally well-crafted and thoughtfully updated. For
instance, if a home has a steam oven, it likely has other high-end
finishes that buyers are willing to pay for."
There are many factors that contribute to a home's sale speed
and final sale price, and the current hot housing market shows no
signs of slowing down. For this analysis, Zillow looked at over 220
features or design elements that were mentioned in the listing
descriptions of over one million homes sold in 2020.
Top 10 Features Associated with Homes Selling for More Than
Expected
Feature
|
Price
Premium
|
Steam oven
|
4.9%
|
Curbless
(shower)
|
3.6%
|
Modern
farmhouse
|
3.6%
|
Pizza oven
|
3.4%
|
Heated floor; radiant
heat
|
3.2%
|
New
appliances
|
3.2%
|
Quartz
|
3.2%
|
Dog house
|
3.2%
|
Smart
appliance
|
3.0%
|
Butcher
block
|
2.7%
|
Top 10 Features Associated with a Faster than Expected
Sale
Feature
|
Days on Market
Shorter than
Expected
|
Drought-resistant
|
13.2
|
Bohemian/BoHo
|
11
|
Turf
|
10.9
|
Mid-century
|
9
|
Smart sprinkler
system
|
7.5
|
Double-pane
window
|
7.4
|
Barndoor
|
6.0
|
Open
shelving
|
5.7
|
Carrara
(marble)
|
5.3
|
Fenced
yard/backyard
|
4.9
|
Methodology:
Approximately 1.4 million home
sales from 2020 were analyzed. In each case, the listing
description on Zillow was flagged for whether it contained any
variation of each of 221 common expressions of interest. The logged
final sale price (or days on Zillow) was regressed against the
logged pre-listing Zestimate, which represented Zillow's best guess
of how much it would sell for when listed, as well as
(simultaneously) the presence or absence of every one of these 221
listing description features. Only results for features with a
statistically significant coefficient and which appeared in at
least 100 listing descriptions are reported here.
About Zillow Group:
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate
to make it easier to unlock life's next chapter.
As the most-visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates
offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying,
renting or financing with transparency and nearly seamless
end-to-end service. Zillow Offers® buys and sells homes directly in
dozens of markets across the country, allowing sellers control over
their timeline. Zillow Home Loans™, our affiliate lender, provides
our customers with an easy option to get pre-approved and secure
financing for their next home purchase. Zillow recently launched
Zillow Homes, Inc., a licensed brokerage entity, to streamline
Zillow Offers transactions.
Zillow Group's brands, affiliates and subsidiaries include
Zillow®; Zillow Offers®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans™;
Zillow Closing Services™; Zillow Homes, Inc.; Trulia®; Out East®;
StreetEasy® and HotPads®. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal
Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).
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SOURCE Zillow