The Most Popular Home Styles Across the U.S. That Command Top Dollar Right Now

Just like their individual barbecue preferences, architectural tastes among Americans vary dramatically across regions. Some areas favor ranch-style homes, while others lean toward charming English-inspired abodes or stately Colonial dwellings.

But some home designs come with a considerably higher price tag than others, largely because they tend to have a bigger square footage and be more popular with buyers.

Realtor.com® economists examined some of the most common architectural styles across the U.S. to understand how they vary in price, size, price appreciation, location, and age, compiling their findings in the 2025 Architectural Style Trends Review.

The analysis used active single-family home listings for each year studied, including data from the first five months of 2025. Design styles were identified through descriptions from the Realtor.com listings database. However, it's important to note that architects and builders are often divided on what constitutes a particular style.

What economists found was that, perhaps unsurprisingly, Colonial/American traditional-style homes are the most prevalent in the U.S., making up roughly half of the entire for-sale market in May 2025. 

Ranch-style homes were the second most popular, comprising more than a third of all listings, followed by modern homes in distant third, commanding just over 13% of the market. Craftsman-style homes trailed behind, with nearly 12%. 

While Mediterranean-style dwellings accounted for just over 4% of all for-sale homes, they were among the largest and most expensive in the U.S., likely due in part to their concentration in high-priced markets like Los Angeles and Miami.

At a mere 1.5%, English-inspired homes had the smallest share of the housing market, but they also tended to be the largest and oldest.

We'll now dive deeper by defining each architectural style and highlighting its distinguishing characteristics, from red tile roofs and stucco walls to intricate woodwork and sleek art deco lines. Next, we'll look at where each type of home is most in demand, why home shoppers are drawn to them, and what you can expect to pay for each style.

Realtor.com experts relied on the National Association of Realtors® guide for residential architectural styles and additional sources to group 16 architectural styles into six categories that share common characteristics or influences.

Mediterranean/European-inspired

This diverse category celebrates the rich heritage of European and Southwestern design, including Pueblo Revival, Spanish Eclectic, Italianate, and French aesthetics. These homes blend timeless elegance and warm, earthy character through distinctive features such as stucco walls, red tile roofs, decorative ironwork, and classical detailing.

Their romantic charm—often featuring arched windows, steeply pitched roofs, and unique ornamentation—brings a sense of history and craftsmanship to modern living. Mediterranean homes are most commonly found in the West and Southwest.

Mediterranean homes are most prevalent in Los Angeles, where they make up nearly 15% of all listings. Miami is not far behind, with over 9% of for-sale inventory built in this style, followed by Riverside, CA, at 8.4% of the market share. 

Mediterranean homes tend to be the second-largest of all the commonly recognized styles, boasting a median square footage of around 2,500, trailing only English-inspired dwellings. 

The size difference between styles likely has a lot to do with when homes were built and what was considered "normal" in terms of the aesthetic at the time, according to Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale.

Nationally, the median year built of all active listings is 1995. Mediterranean homes are among the newest, with the typical property having gone up in 2001.  

Although Mediterranean homes are not the largest in terms of square footage, they come with the highest price tag, with a median list price of $725,000—nearly 58% higher than the national median of $459,000. 

"These homes tend to be large and highly concentrated in the West, both of which mean a bigger price tag," says Hale. 

Interestingly, data analysis reveals that the price of the typical Mediterranean home in May remained flat year over year, reflecting slower demand for expensive properties and softening prices in the West and South, where this style is most widespread.  

"In general, higher-price home styles have appreciated less than lower-priced styles in the last year, a nod to economic and policy uncertainty as well as the rising cost of ownership, which have hurt demand for high-priced homes," notes Hale English-inspired

Embracing classic English design, this building tradition highlights the timeless elegance and romantic charm of Tudor and Victorian architecture.

These homes often feature steep gable roofs, elaborate woodwork, and decorative details that bring historic character to modern living, making them appear as if they would not look out of place in 16th-century England.

Nationally, the English-inspired architectural style is the least popular. Regionally, those types of homes are most often found in the Northeast, with New York City being the biggest hub, accounting for 8.7% share of all listings in May. 

Outside of the East Coast, English-style homes can be found scattered across the West and Southwest, with Houston and Los Angeles seeing between 4% and 5% of listings of that variety. 

English-inspired homes are typically the oldest in the U.S., with a median year built of 1927, but they are also the most spacious, with a median square footage of nearly 2,700.

Economists point out that Victorian and Tudor-style homes that fall under this category continue to be built and renovated, which could explain their impressive size. 

The typical English-inspired home fetched the second-highest list price of $634,900 in May, up more than 4% from a year ago. But compared with pre-pandemic levels, it saw the slowest price appreciation, at a mere 27% over six years. 

According to Hale, the sluggish appreciation pace in larger home styles is linked to similar forces that have pushed buyer demand toward more affordable home styles in more affordable areas.

Modern

Modern architecture encompasses sleek, minimalist designs, which gained popularity in the early to mid-20th century. Influenced by art deco, art moderne, and contemporary styles, these homes embrace clean lines, geometric shapes, and innovative materials.

The focus is on functionality, simplicity, and a departure from ornate historic styles.

Modern-style homes are the third most popular in the U.S. Like their Mediterranean counterparts, they are most prevalent in the West and Southwest, with Los Angeles, Tucson, AZ, and Atlanta boasting the highest concentrations of these properties.

With the typical modern-style home built in 2004, it is the newest among all the design varieties. 

Looking at the cost of modern homes, in May, the median list price was $629,995, which was slightly cheaper than English-inspired, representing an annual growth of 1.9%

However, on a price-per-square-foot basis, the typical modern home was more expensive, at $271 per square foot, compared with $237 for an English-inspired home. 

Compared with 2019, modern homes appreciated significantly at a rate of 43.5% over six years. 

Craftsman

Rooted in the early 20th-century Arts and Crafts movement, Craftsman homes are all about natural materials and lovingly handcrafted details. Hallmarks include exposed beams, built-in cabinetry, and low-pitched gabled roofs.

The style embodies a warm, rustic aesthetic that emphasizes craftsmanship and a connection to nature. Timber-framed homes have been included in this grouping as well.

Craftsman houses command a respectable share of the national housing market, with the style being most popular in Atlanta, where close to 15% of all listings fall into this category.

In famously quirky and creative Portland, OR, 4% of the city’s homes are Craftsman style, while 3.7% of homes in Detroit are classified as Craftsman. 

Craftsman homes tend to be newer than some of the other styles, with the median built year of 2000, only behind Mediterranean and modern. 

Compared with other styles, Craftsman homes skew smaller, with the typical property boasting a median living space of 1,908 square feet, which is below the national median of 2,048 square feet. 

The median price of a Craftsman in May was $467,000, up 3.8% from May 2024 and 43.7% from six years ago, signaling robust appreciation. 

Colonial

Drawing inspiration from early American settlements, Colonial architecture emphasizes symmetry, pitched roofs, and simple, classic lines. These homes often feature shuttered windows and clapboard siding reminiscent of 17th- and 18th-century designs.

The 2025 architectural style trends review includes other classic American home styles such as Cape Cod and American farmhouse in this grouping. These styles evoke a sense of timeless tradition and historical charm. 

Colonial homes are America’s most popular by a wide margin, making up a staggering 49.8% of all for-sale listings in May. 

The style is especially popular in the Northeast and the South, but Colonial homes can also be found in the Southwest, with Houston having a high concentration of these traditional dwellings, followed by Atlanta and Dallas.

The typical Colonial home was built in 1996, making it a year younger than the national median, with a square footage of 2,225. 

The median price of a Colonial stood at $449,000, which is below the national figure. However, over the past year, homes built in this American traditional style appreciated the most at a rate of 5.6%, nearly triple the national annual appreciation rate. 

Ranch-style

Emerging in the mid-20th century, ranch homes reflect a postwar emphasis on suburban living and open, single-story floor plans. These designs favor horizontal lines, large windows, and integrated garages, prioritizing casual indoor-outdoor living.

Inspired by the American West, ranch style embodies modern practicality and a laid-back vibe. Prairie-style homes have been included in this grouping as well.

Out of all the styles evaluated in the review, ranch homes tend to be the least spacious, coming in at just 1,700 square feet, or about 1,000 square feet smaller than English-inspired homes. 

Ranch-style dwellings also tend to be older, with the typical property having been built in the 1980s, and cheaper than all the other types of listings, with the median asking price of $369,000. 

Looking at price per square foot, these homes are a little more expensive than Colonial, coming in at $211 per square foot. 

As demand for more affordable homes picked up since the COVID-19 pandemic, ranch-style inventory saw the fastest appreciation, at 44.7%.