Not Open Floor Plans Or Granite Counters: This Is One Of 2026's Hottest Rising Trends

The real estate market is constantly working to pinpoint what makes a house sell quickly and what causes others to sit unsold – an ever-changing target as trends and the world around us change. In an effort to track the ebb and flow of what potential home buyers find desirable, Realtor.com does a yearly analysis to assess how often certain home features appear in sale property listing descriptions, as well as the change from previous years as an indicator of rising or falling popularity. According to its 2025 home trends report, of the top five fastest-rising home features of the past year, three of them were related to sustainability, efficiency, and climate-friendly living.  

"We're seeing homeowners prioritize features that make their properties more efficient, resilient, and self-sustaining," said Anthony Smith, the senior economist at Realtor.com and the author of the report, in a press release. "Buyers increasingly view eco-friendly upgrades as both a lifestyle choice and a smart financial investment — especially as energy costs and climate concerns become part of everyday decision-making." Following the top ranked WaterSense fixtures and the fourth ranked Net-Zero ready homes, coming in at number five in the home trends report was one of 2026's hottest rising trends toward eco-friendly living: EV (electric vehicle) charging.

Homes described as featuring an EV plug-in charging station were listed 91.6% more often in 2025 versus 2024. In addition, this tech-forward, eco-friendly feature was noted as a "widespread" home upgrade on the market, meaning it was prevalent in a large number of listings — not just a niche luxury feature experiencing a noteworthy jump among a select pool of buyers. Let's dive into why the real estate market is seeing a huge jump in EV charging mentions on the MLS this year, as well as what experts believe that says about the future of the market as a whole.

The uptick in the presence of EV charging in real estate listings in 2025 has a very unsurprising cause: more people have plug-in cars that need a home charger. Plug-in car sales, including battery electric and hybrid, accounted for about 10% of the U.S. market in 2024 — or a record-breaking 1.5 million new cars. Though the sales rate is expected to continue to hover around 10% of the market through 2026, approximately one in 10 new cars per year is still a significant number of drivers in need of a home charging source. Therefore, it's no surprise that property descriptions are being written to emphasize EV charging to appeal to the large market share of plug-in car owners, who would undoubtedly prioritize purchasing a home with a charging station versus paying to install an EV charger themselves. 

It stands to reason that existing EV charging would be a major plus for potential eco-centric home buyers that had future plans to invest in a plug-in electric car, even if they didn't yet own one. However, EV charging isn't the only eco-friendly, tech-forward feature enticing today's prospective homebuyers. "A decade ago, buyers might have asked about open floor plans or granite counters," said Anthony Smith in a press release. "Today, they're looking for EV chargers, high-speed wiring, and homes that can adapt. The definition of what makes a home modern has completely evolved." The increasing frequency in which these home features are popping up in property listing data indicates that many buyers are prioritizing efficient, future-focused, green living as a long term financial investment and a  more sustainable way of life for themselves and their communities.