From bungalows to ranches, popular house styles are abundant throughout the United States. Our team at Homes.com loves different home styles, especially ones that are unique or particular to a region!
Since we work with homes across the country, we know what features different styles offer to their owners. Through our advanced home search tools, we know exactly what’s on the market in thousands of cities around the U.S., but we wanted to know more about what buyers want out of their next home. For example, what are Americans’ favorite house styles? Does the average buyer have a strong opinion on them? Does America’s most popular house styles match up with the most common?
To find out, we decided to conduct a survey of 5,000+ U.S. adults on their favorite house styles, architectural features, and more. For the primary section of the survey, we displayed a series of photos of the most popular home styles and asked our respondents to vote on their favorite. We then pulled out data insights from the survey results state by state.
So, what did we learn about the most popular house styles in the U.S.?
The first question asked our respondents to vote on their favorite house style from a condensed list of the most common ones in the U.S. The styles are:
- Mid-century Modern Ranch
- Modern Farmhouse
- Spanish Colonial/Southwest
- Bohemian Craftsman
- Italianate
- French Chateau
- Tudor
Across the board, “Modern Farmhouse” swept the results as the most favored house style in the U.S. This house style was voted most popular in the majority of states (42 to be exact), mainly concentrated in the Northwest, East, and Southeast parts of the country. According to our respondents, they favor this style because it is “aesthetically pleasing but not boring,” it looks “simple, cozy, and not too busy,” and it seems like “a nice big home for a family.”
The runner-up most popular style is the “Mid-century Modern Ranch,” which is preferred by residents of Midwestern states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well as Southwest states such as Colorado and Arizona. The Mid-century Modern Ranch is known for its “clean lines and big windows,” and for being more “minimal and natural-looking,” according to our respondents.
So, now that we know that Americans love Modern Farmhouse and Mid-century Modern homes, let’s dig into their least favorite house styles.
Our results indicate that most Americans aren’t keen on the Italianate style. It had the least amount of votes for favorite style in 36 states. This house style, while extremely popular in the United States in the 1800s, is clearly no longer the trendy style.
Other states such as Illinois, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania liked the Spanish Colonial/Southwest style the least. This style, as indicated by the name, is common in the Southwestern parts of the country and typically includes thick stucco walls, red tile roofs, and enclosed courtyards that are rare in other states.
This insight got us thinking: are the most favored house styles correlated to the most common styles that an average American would see walking down the street? According to our results, not really.
We asked our respondents which house styles are most common in their neighborhoods. As it turns out, the Bohemian Craftsman style is what you’re most likely to see, even though most Americans prefer Modern Farmhouse homes, which is the second-most common style. However, it’s safe to say that the least popular styles (Italianate, Spanish Colonial, and French Chateau) are also the least commonly seen on American streets.
Next, we asked our respondents about their preferences for more specific interior and exterior features that make or break their home-buying decisions.
According to our results, homebuyers pay roughly equal attention to many exterior features of a potential home. What’s most important to them is the size of the windows, but they’ll also keep their eye out for the number of windows, the presence of a porch or patio, and the shape of the roof, for example.
However, when it comes to interiors, one feature of a home reigns supreme: layout (we can just imagine the real estate agents nodding their heads vigorously now). A vast majority of respondents indicated this as the most important factor to them, with other features, such as storage space, flooring, and the presence of a primary bedroom suite, dwarfing in comparison.
At Homes.com, we know that there’s plenty to love about architecture, but do most Americans feel the same? Next, we asked about the importance of architectural style in home-buying decisions.
Interestingly, Americans are pretty split on the question: if you were to buy a home, how important is its architectural style to you? 48.7% indicated that it matters a lot, and 40.3% suggested that it only matters a little. However, only 1.8% reported it doesn’t matter at all, and 9.8% noted that they are neutral on the matter. Additionally, only 22.9% of Americans also consider themselves “very knowledgeable” about architecture and different house styles. The vast majority of people (56.5%) indicated they only “know some things”.
That wraps up our study on American’s favorite house styles. We could look at images of beautiful house styles all day long! Are you interested in learning more about architecture? Check out our many blog posts highlighting the unique architecture of different cities across the United States.
