Do certain amenities attract buyers to pay a premium for a home? According to Zillow—which analyzed 3.6 million home sales between 2016 and 2017 to see how listing keywords associated with different features can impact the sale price and time on market of a home—the answer is, “Yes.” The top amenity? Steam showers, which can lead to a home selling for 29 percent above its expected value. That’s followed by professional appliances, which also can help sellers net a 29 percent premium, and pizza ovens, which can bring in 25 percent more.
Meanwhile, Zillow found that sellers looking at different price points are attracted to—and willing to pay extra for—different amenities. Among just those homes priced in the bottom one-third of all homes, solar panels were the most lucrative feature to advertise in listing descriptions, netting sellers of these homes an extra 40 percent over other, more entry-level listings that did not advertise them. Among more typical homes priced in the middle segment of the market, sheds or garage studios were the largest, helping net sellers a 24 percent premium.
Among only higher-end homes priced in the top-third of the market, Sub-Zero refrigerators proved a valuable investment, netting a 38 percent premium over otherwise high-end listings with more standard refrigerators. However, some home sellers aren’t necessarily trying to maximize profit, and instead aim to minimize the time their home spends on the market. For those with a need for speed, noting exposed brick in their listing can put a spark in their sale, with listings mentioning the term selling a full two weeks faster in 2016-2017 than those that did not. In addition, advertising open shelving, dual flush and mid-century features also shortened the time spent on market among all homes sold in the past two years by more than 10 days—as did subway tile in high-end kitchens.
Just like with price premiums, what makes a sale speedy differs by market segment. Noting open shelving in a bottom-third listing led to a sale 14 days faster than entry-level listings that didn’t mention that feature. Having and advertising a shed/garage studio shaved 15 days off the sale time for mid-market sellers, while dual-flush features helped high-end sellers sell their homes 14 days quicker.