TL;DR
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Zillow’s annual report tracks how often features and design terms appear in for-sale listings, identifying seven areas with rising mentions, including analog rooms, flexible spaces, multigenerational features and catios. The figures describe listing language, not a survey of buyer preferences or proof that these features raise a home’s sale price.
Zillow’s 2027 home trends report identifies seven groups of features increasingly mentioned in for-sale listings, from AI-powered systems and analog rooms to flexible work areas, wellness spaces and catios. The figures offer sellers and prospective buyers a snapshot of how listing descriptions are changing, but they do not establish that buyers will pay more for those features or that every trend reflects measured buyer demand.
The report tracks changes in the frequency of terms in Zillow home listings. It says mentions of AI rose 119% year over year, the largest increase in its data, while app-controlled home systems rose 34%. At the same time, listings mentioning libraries and music rooms—examples of designated unplugged spaces—were 34% more common. Zillow describes the contrast as a rise in both connected home technology and spaces associated with a digital break.
For interiors, mentions of “elevated” rose 71%, while “cozy” fell 22%, “eclectic” fell 19% and “boho” fell 13%. Some specific design elements also gained ground: color-drenched rooms rose 84%, painted brick exteriors 27% and board-and-batten siding 24%, according to the report. These are changes in listing language, not counts of completed renovations or sales.
Zillow also found more listing mentions of practical home systems, including whole-home batteries, fresh-air ventilation, air and water filtration, and radon mitigation. Mentions of home offices rose 42%, media rooms 37% and flex spaces 35%, while “chef’s kitchens” fell 21% and “gourmet kitchens” 15%. The report’s other categories include multigenerational living and accessibility, home gyms and spa-inspired bathrooms, and catios, whose listing mentions rose 32%.
Listing Language Offers Seller Clues
The report documents which features sellers are increasingly choosing to mention in listings. References to flexible rooms, backup power and accessibility appear among the categories with rising mentions. Sellers can use the findings to compare listing language with the features in their own homes, while buyers can note how those features are described in listings.
The figures do not establish that these features affect sale prices or time on the market. Zillow measured how often terms appeared in listings; the supplied report does not quantify resale effects or rank features in a direct buyer survey. The findings measure changes in marketing language, not confirmed buyer preferences or sales outcomes.
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How Zillow Counts the Trends
The source report, published by Veranda and based on Zillow’s annual home trends report for 2027, groups its findings into seven themes: quiet technology and analog spaces; elevated interiors; safety and efficiency; flex spaces; aging in place; wellness and hobby rooms; and catios. Its comparisons are described as changes over the past year in the presence of terms in for-sale listings.
The results show that listing language can move in different directions within a single category. Mentions of sustainability-related words such as “sustainable” and “green” each fell 26%, while the report recorded increases for specific features such as whole-home batteries, ventilation and filtration. Likewise, “cozy” remained a common listing term even as its mentions declined. The report therefore distinguishes broad labels from particular amenities, rather than describing a uniform shift in home design.
“Mentions of AI are up 119%, the largest year-over-year jump in this year’s data.”
— Zillow, as quoted in Veranda’s report
What Listing Mentions Cannot Show
The supplied report does not provide the underlying listing counts, geographic breakdowns, sample size or methodology details needed to evaluate how the trends vary by market. It also does not say whether the reported increases reflect more homes with these features, sellers using different wording, or both. The percentages describe year-over-year changes in mentions, not the share of all homes with an amenity.
There is no direct measure here of buyer preferences, renovation costs, resale premiums or the likelihood that a particular feature will help a home sell. The report’s conclusion that some features signal buyer interest should be understood as an interpretation of listing data. No 2027 sales outcomes or later updates are included in the source material.
Use the Data With Local Comparisons
Homeowners considering a listing can compare the report’s themes with recent listings in their own area and ask a local real estate professional which features appear relevant to buyers there. Sellers can describe existing amenities accurately, while anyone considering renovations should weigh costs and personal use rather than assume a trend will deliver a higher sale price. The report itself provides no specific project recommendations or return-on-investment estimates.
Further reporting would be needed to show whether these listing patterns persist into 2027 and whether they correspond to measured buyer choices or sale prices. Until then, Zillow’s figures provide a snapshot of changing listing descriptions, with local market conditions and the data’s limits still central to interpreting them.
Key Questions
What are the seven home trend categories Zillow identifies?
The report groups trends as quiet technology and analog spaces, elevated interiors, safety and efficiency, flex spaces, aging in place, wellness and hobby rooms, and catios.
Does the report prove buyers will pay more for these features?
No. It measures how often terms appear in for-sale listings. It does not report sale-price effects, renovation returns or results from a direct survey of buyers.
Which listing mentions increased the most?
Mentions of AI rose 119% year over year, which Zillow described as the largest increase in its data. The figure concerns listing mentions, not the number of homes with AI systems.
What does Zillow mean by a catio?
A catio is a screened or otherwise enclosed outdoor space designed to let cats spend time outside safely. Zillow’s report says catio mentions in for-sale listings rose 32% over the past year.
Source: veranda.com
