Zillow is out with a new list of features that reportedly help homes sell faster or for more money. It’s probably not a surprise that many of these support facets of wellness design. It’s thus fair to say that these benefits are not only financial; they’re also physical and mental. Let’s take a look at the numbers, and some insights from real estate sales professionals around the country on what they’re seeing in their markets.
Outdoor Features
Home features that enhance outdoor living still trend strongly with buyers, according to real estate site: “Six of the top 10 features that help homes sell for more are outdoor features, signaling that the pandemic-era demand for functional outdoor space remains.” These features include outdoor kitchens, TVs, showers, pizza ovens, fenced yards and saltwater pools, all of which can enhance well-being.
“Anything that is outdoors is hugely popular and helps to make a house sell more quickly,” comments Jay Mitchell with Berkshire Hathaway RW Towne Realty in Virginia Beach. “Because we are outdoor-oriented and along the coast with beaches, rivers and forests, people want to spend their time outdoors. Fireplaces and fire pits; fountains; ponds; patios, decks of all kinds and outdoor showers are very hot items and buyers are keen to find properties with any or all of these amenities.”
Being outdoors and in contact with nature enhances physical and mental health, according to extensive research, making features even as unexpected as outdoor screens potentially wellness-enhancing. Socializing also enhances health by reducing loneliness, and outdoor televisions are often used for gatherings to watch special events. Pools and pizza ovens enhance socializing too. A fenced yard keeps children and pets in sight, and outdoor showers keep indoor floors dryer, reducing slip hazards. Both home features enhance safety, the second facet of wellness design.
According to Zillow, pizza ovens help homes sell for 1.9% more, outdoor showers 2.6% more, outdoor kitchens 1.7% more, and outdoor TVs 3.1% more – “the highest sale price premium of all 359 features Zillow analyzed across nearly 1 million home sales in 2023,” according to its report. Fenced yards help homes sell 2.8 days faster, and saltwater pools speed up sales times by 2.6 days.
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Michelle Silverman with Coldwell Banker Realty in La Jolla agrees: “A full-functioning outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven will attract more buyers to a luxury home that can bring multiple offers and an increase in sales price, leading to a quicker sale. Another top feature that luxury buyers are looking for in a home is an outdoor cold water plunge, as well as an outdoor movie theatre which can lead to a faster sale.”
Kitchen Features
It’s real estate lore that kitchens sell homes, so it’s not surprising that some of their wellness-enhancing features help homes sell faster. New York area agent Samantha Michel with Keller Williams Points North observes, “Regarding the specific features mentioned, it's important to consider the broader context of the home. For instance, the popularity of soapstone countertops has surged over the past five to eight years, suggesting that homes featuring this material may also boast recently remodeled kitchens. Given that the median home price in the country is $511,000, a 3% increase amounts to approximately $15,000, which coincidentally aligns with the cost of a new kitchen remodel. Ultimately, the perceived value of features such as a ‘pizza oven’ or a ‘she shed’ varies depending on the preferences of potential buyers.”
Kitchen-adjacent features help too in larger homes, and these features reflect that too. For example, enhanced refrigeration: “A beverage center is the new wine fridge. Beverage centers can help a home fetch a 2.4% sale premium, compared to 0.9% for wine fridges. These undercounter refrigerators offer different temperature settings for different types of beverages, not only wine.” Beverage fridges let children grab after-school sips and yoga moms healthy smoothies without having to rummage through foodstuffs in the main fridge, reducing temptations and energy waste.
“Beverage centers” are starting to show up in some of our listings, and not limited just to indoors – they are popping up in outdoor kitchens in addition to refrigerators. Not only that, but separate coffee bars are trending as well, particularly in homes that are being remodeled,” Mitchell notes.
Zillow also noted that “#Plantparents snap up homes that mention a plant ledge in their listing description more than five days faster than expected.” Plant ledges in kitchens can enhance wellness with herb gardens for flavor, greenery for improved indoor air quality and both for biophilia benefits.
“Quartz countertops help homes sell for 1.7% more – but soapstone tops are trending at 3% more!” Zillow reported. This is a mixed benefit. Both are nonporous and durable, but soapstone comes with a few negatives worth considering before selecting: ”It scratches easily and has an unpredictable patina, plus it requires regular oiling,” noted House Beautiful in its article on their pros and cons.
Other Home Features
Zillow cited other features that boost home sales. Among these were “rounded corners, popular in contemporary furniture design and now architecture (hello, curvy kitchens), can help a home sell six days faster than similar homes.” This attribute is trending for its aesthetic, but it also enhances safety, by reducing injury risk to running children and balance-challenged older adults. It can also save home fitness enthusiasts (like me) from painful encounters with cabinetry during high impact workouts. “Rounded corners just recently became a bit more popular, as builders are not really offering them as an option anymore,” notes Muriel Williams-Thompson with Town and Country Realty in Denver.
The real estate platform also cited this increasingly popular feature: “She sheds helped homes sell for 2% more.” I touted the wellness benefits of she sheds as retreats in a July 2023 Forbes.com article, and a related Clubhouse conversation. (You can listen to the recording here.) And that was almost a year before the real estate benefits were touted. One of my sources for that piece was a psychologist who specializes in women’s issues. Here's what she shared about these special places: There are definitely wellness benefits to these rooms — and the time women spend in them looking after their own mental health needs. “Without this space, she can feel confined, intruded upon, perhaps resentful if her mate has his (assuming heterosexuality) own space, and fatigued because she doesn’t have a much-needed time out from household tasks and care giving.”
Conclusion
As Michel points out, “It’s essential to recognize that merely adding a single feature doesn't guarantee a 1% to 3% increase in home value or a 2.5-day reduction in time on the market. As with any statistical analysis, it's crucial to understand that correlation does not imply causation.”
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Note: All real estate pro interviews were conducted last week by email.
