Seattle Culture
Zillow Searches: Strange, Odd, Weird
Haunted house? Roller coaster? Zillow reveals most popular and unusual home searches.
By Rob Smith January 2, 2025
In Washington state, it’s vegetable gardens. In Nevada, it’s huge mansions, and in Michigan it’s laser tag.
Seattle online home marketplace Zillow is having fun this holiday season by identifying popular and unusual home searches on its platform the past year. Many residents across Washington state are apparently interested in backyard vegetable ventures.
The company notes that top search terms by state indicate how “geography, lifestyle, and climate” influence homebuyer interest.
For example, “pool” topped the list in warm-weather states California, Florida and Texas. “Garage” or “ranch” homes were the most-searched terms in colder or rural states Alaska, North Dakota and Wyoming. The company notes that some searches were just plain odd.
“One Colorado home shopper looked for a ‘roller coaster,’ the study notes. “If the home shopper who searched all over the country for a ‘party barn’ found what they were looking for, their house could be the place to be in 2025.” At least one shopper in 22 states was on the hunt for a haunted house.
The most-searched home attribute across the United States was “ranch style,” followed by “lake,” “duplex,” “cabin,” and “farm.”
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