Real Estate News
Buyers are zooming in on amenities such as white oak floors, soapstone countertops, or even a pot filler
For generations, New England homeowners have argued over the region’s architectural canon: Colonial or Cape? Victorian or ranch? Paper or Styrofoam Dunkin’ cup? (OK, maybe less on the last one.)
In the past decade, another style even barged in all the way from Waco, Texas, and HGTV: the modern farmhouse. Black windows, barn doors, shiplap everywhere. Thank (or blame) Chip and Joanna Gaines of “Fixer Upper” fame.
Now, the barn door seems to be creaking shut.
Zillow’s latest research shows the style isn’t quite dead, but it has lost its luster. In 2016, listings boasting a barn door sold for up to a 13 percent premium. “Modern farmhouse” as a label commanded a 10 percent premium in 2020. Today, both hover closer to 1 percent, according to Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert.
“They’re still selling for more than expected, but just not what we used to see,” Pendleton said.
Buyers today are scrolling listings on their phones long before they ever hit an open house.
“Buyers aren’t waiting until the open house to react to a home,” Pendleton said. “If they don’t like what they see, they’re not even showing up.”
Certain words in a listing are automatic red flags: Jacuzzi tub, tile countertops, and laminate are just the tip of the nonstarter iceberg. They read as dated and expensive to fix, Pendleton said.
On the flip side, white oak floors, soapstone countertops, or even a pot filler carry weight. Zillow’s numbers suggest those simple touches can add thousands to a sale price.
The hottest cues are part of what Pendleton calls “organic modernism.” White oak floors, Venetian plaster walls, and soapstone counters are all part of this design mix: essentially, materials that feel natural, textured, and contemporary without being cold. Wet rooms — totally waterproofed bathrooms with an open shower area at the same level as the rest of the floor — over spa bathrooms, along with outdoor showers or outdoor kitchens, can also nudge up a home’s value.
Greater Boston still likes its curb appeal
Around Boston, the exteriors haven’t strayed far from the classics.
Maggie Gold Seelig, a luxury broker and MGS Group Real Estate founder, said buyers still respond to “that Patrick Ahearn-ish, classical New England vibe” at the curb. Inside, though, the script flips.
“People aren’t craving a center-entrance Colonial with rooms you just walk past,” Seelig said. “They want spaces they actually use.”
Dining rooms, for instance, are often pressed into double duty. One week it’s an office or library, the next it transforms into a warm dining space for Rosh Hashanah or Thanksgiving. The goal, she emphasized, is practicality: enjoying every inch of a house rather than dedicating rooms to formality.
Builder Cindy Stumpo, whose multimillion-dollar projects in Brookline and Newton are staples of local real-estate gossip, insists her clients are leaning away from heavy tradition.
What they’re buying, she said, are open-concept contemporary spaces that feel “a little Miami, a little LA.”
For Stumpo, the farmhouse isn’t over so much as it is evolving. Rustic veneers have fallen flat, but she sees demand for what she calls “warm modern”: open layouts softened with texture and glam touches.
Architects are less diplomatic.
“There are some clients looking for [modern farmhouse], but it is waning,” said David O’Sullivan, president of O’Sullivan Architects and of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Massachusetts. “We as designers feel the style has been overdone and does not provide enough variety.”
Infill projects skew contemporary. Neighbors or historic boards sometimes demand traditional cues, but the cost often tips the scales.
“The contemporary design tends to be more cost-efficient with its simple forms and details,” O’Sullivan noted, while traditional Boston brick “tends to be more expensive than budgets allow.”
Zoning plays a role, too. Larger minimum lot sizes mean builders must go big to make money, and design review boards can add months of delays.
Beyond aesthetics, Pendleton stressed that today’s buyers are focused on basics like staying on budget and having air conditioning. Nearly all new construction buyers also want at least one smart home feature (a thermostat, lights, or security system), and they increasingly prize durability and climate resilience. A house that promises to be easier to live in carries as much weight as one with white oak floors.
Then, there’s social media. Zillow research shows more than a third of buyers use it during their search — not to scroll for listings, but to absorb what styles and builders feel current, Pendleton said.
It’s the HGTV effect on steroids: see enough curved sofas or plaster walls in your feed, and they start to look like the default.
The New England translation
Put it all together, and New England’s iconic home styles aren’t disappearing so much as they are getting a little remix.
Buyers may still want a gracious Colonial profile on the street, but inside, the formality is melting away in favor of flexible rooms, natural textures, and outdoor spaces that feel like real living areas. Shiplap and sliding barn doors might not vanish entirely — somewhere, Chip and Joanna are still cashing royalties — but the market is rewarding a different set of signals.
For sellers, the message is clear: Highlight the materials and layouts that feel contemporary and livable, rather than clinging to trends that peaked with HGTV reruns. For buyers, it means knowing what looks timeless at the curb may hide a very 2025 contemporary interior: open, textured, and designed for daily life rather than show.
In the meantime, rest easy when you make your next trek to HomeGoods: The modern farmhouse isn’t completely out to pasture.
But in New England, at least, it’s no longer the only style buyers are seeking.
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