We’re just two months into 2025, but already, real estate agents are starting to take note of specific home-buying trends that are making waves this year.
Here, we spoke with three pros located across the country who share six specific trends that they anticipate will only grow more in popularity in the months to come. Keep reading to learn more about what they’ve witnessed regarding indoor-outdoor living, down payments, privacy, and more.
Meet the Expert
- Taylor Lucyk is the founder of Taylor Lucyk Group.
- Jason Dion is the managing broker and director of marketing at Century 21, The Crossing.
- Andrew Fortune is a realtor and brokerage owner at Great Colorado Homes.
A Focus on Wellness
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Why not make this the year of getting fit—without even having to leave the house?
Homebuyers in 2025 are eager to prioritize wellness amenities in their homes, according to Taylor Lucyk, who is the founder of Taylor Lucyk Group. Lucyk is encountering more and more buyers requesting home gyms, saunas, and cold plunges—gone are the days of these kinds of resources only being available at fancy workout clubs and hotels.
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Nature-Inspired Design
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Additionally, Lucyk, who is based in New Jersey, has noticed an influx of homes in his area that feature high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to shine in. But that’s not all—there are many other ways builders and sellers are weaving nature-inspired elements into homes.
“Design trends are embracing warmth and texture, with natural wood accent walls, vertical paneling, and earthy color palettes,” Lucyk says.
Overall, indoor-outdoor living is set to reign supreme in the coming year.
Emphasis on Location Versus Home Size
According to Jason Dion, who is the managing broker and director of marketing at Century 21, The Crossing, many buyers will name the former.
“A smaller, updated home is desired more in this market than a larger, less expensive home in a less desirable area,” he says. “Location is the most important factor in 2025, over all else.”
Dion explains that this is because potential buyers want walkability and a community feel and are willing to prioritize convenience in these respects over square footage.
Kitchens With Separate Prep Spaces
Who says you can’t have a fully functional kitchen that’s a bit more private?
“The flashy, open kitchens of the last decade are being reworked into spaces that emphasize practicality and efficiency,” Andrew Fortune, who is a realtor and brokerage owner at Great Colorado Homes, says.
With this, people are requesting to have separate back kitchens where they can prep their dishes without guests seeing exactly what is going on. After all, Fortune says, people are enjoying cooking at home more often and prepping their meals. Fortune explains how kitchens are being designed like professional workspaces with their own specialized zones and hidden storage for better functionality.
Private Spaces
On the theme of private spaces, people are also looking for homes that include separate living spaces, Fortunate notes. However, these aren’t designed to house elderly or college-aged family members, he explains, but rather, they can be rented out to generate some extra cash.
“It’s a new way to tackle rising housing costs while maintaining privacy and long-term flexibility,” he says. “More homebuyers are looking at their homes as financial tools, not just personal living spaces, and builders are responding with innovative layouts that make it easy to generate rental income without sacrificing comfort.”
Higher Down Payments
Renting out your home could be a great solution if you’re looking to rebuild your savings.
If you’re eager to spend more upfront on your home’s down payment in order to save costs month to month, you are not alone, Dion shares.
He notes that many people are putting down 20 to 30 percent, if not 40 to 50 in some cases, in order to pay a lower monthly mortgage. That said, he notes that in many instances, buyers putting a hefty percentage down are not pulling directly from cash savings but from their investments or retirement accounts.
