Restb.ai Special Report: Impact of Floor Plans on Days on Market (DOM)

Will adding a floor plan to a real estate listing impact its Days on Market? A new Special Report from Restb.ai, the leader in computer vision and AI for real estate, answers that question. 

The AI movement is revolutionizing the property sector, harnessing the power of computer vision to unlock unprecedented insights and create innovative data-driven strategies. In a pioneering move, a first-of-its-kind study has utilized computer vision and machine learning to analyze thousands of listings, unveiling the true impact of floor plans on selling speed. 

This new study quantifies the effect of floor plans, an often-overlooked listing element that we now understand. It offers insight to brokers and agents on an important addition to their property marketing. This comprehensive analysis sheds new light on how floor plans can influence Days on Market.

1. Analysis scope

Restb.ai meticulously examined 100,000 single-family properties listed between May 1st, 2023, and April 30th, 2024, across 10 diverse US metro markets for a thorough and comprehensive analysis. These markets include Chicago, Grand Rapids (MI), Portland, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Jacksonville, Saint Louis, Phoenix, and Dallas. 

The purpose of including these 10 markets in the study was to provide a geographically diverse dataset. By including major metropolitan areas of various sizes and locations, we aimed to capture a wide range of real estate dynamics. Incorporating market diversity into this study helps reveal general conclusions about the impact of floor plans on property listings, regardless of regional market variations.

2. Floor plan impact 

The Restb.ai study reveals significant variations in the percentage of listings that include floor plans across different markets. On average, the highest percentage of listings with floor plans was observed in Chicago (31.4%), closely followed by Grand Rapids (31.1%). In contrast, Saint Louis had the lowest percentage of listings with floor plans at just 4.9%, with Jacksonville (6.7%) and Dallas (7.7%) also showing low inclusion rates. 

Our study acknowledges that some markets may permit users to upload floor plans not as images, introducing a potential nuance in the data. Nonetheless, our extensive dataset provides a comprehensive overview to gauge the impact of floor plans on Days on Market (DoM).

The two charts below highlight each city’s floor plan penetration, with the cities showing greater than 10% of listings having a plan being categorized as “high plan penetration markets” and the cities with fewer plans being categorized as “low penetration markets”.

3. Impact of data on listings

When analyzing the floor plan usage by real estate agents over time in these markets, the trend shows the use of floor plans in property listings is increasing. Most cities have experienced an increase in floor plan usage in listings, which reflects a growing trend towards providing more detailed property information overall. 

For instance, in just 1 year, St. Louis and Phoenix showed significant increases in the number of floor plans found in listings. The use of floor plans in St. Louis nearly doubled from 2.8% to 4.9% respectively. A few metro markets, such as Chicago and Denver, remained relatively stable in their floor plan inclusion rates. The exception was Portland, the only city that experienced a reduction in the percentage of listings with floor plans, dropping from 25.1% to 15.7%. This trend highlights varying market dynamics and the importance of floor plans in different regions, acknowledging the proven industry adage that “all real estate is local.”

4. Impact of floor plans on selling speed (DOM)

One of the most interesting data points revealed from the computer vision and AI analysis by Restb.ai, is the impact of floor plans on how long a property is listed for sale. A market-by-market analysis of listings featuring floor plans revealed that Days on Market (DOM) varied significantly by location. For example, some cities showed a remarkable reduction in DOM for listings with floor plans, with Chicago moving from 11.3 to 8.5 days – an improvement of 33% faster. St. Louis showed a similar improvement with DOM moving from 8.6 to 6.1 days, a decrease of over 41%! 

Conversely, markets such as Dallas and Las Vegas show a longer selling time. Dallas saw an increase in DOM of 23% from 14 to 18.3 days. Las Vegas increased 2% from 12.9 to 13.2 days. 
These findings highlight that while floor plans can generally enhance the appeal of a listing, their impact can differ significantly based on the specific market dynamics.

5. So floor plans don't impact DOM... or do they?

Diving deeper into the Days on Market data analysis, there’s a more consistent trend in high plan penetration markets, with an average of 1.4 less DOM or a decrease of 18%. This may suggest that as floor plan penetration increases, the impact on DOM becomes more pronounced.

Notably, Chicago and Grand Rapids, with 31.4% and 31.1% of listings featuring floor plans, respectively, showed significant reductions in DOM. Chicago experienced a median DOM change from 11.3 to 8.5 days, while Grand Rapids saw a median change from 5 to 4.9 days. 

Similarly, Portland and Denver, with 15.7% and 16.4% of listings including floor plans, also demonstrated improvements in DOM, with Portland showing a median change from 7.1 to 5.9 and Denver displaying a median change from 9.1 to 7.8. These findings indicate that as the adoption of floor plans in listings increases, their effectiveness in reducing DOM is more evident.

Extrapolating from these insights, it’s plausible that as floor plans become more common in a given market, they become a more critical component in a potential home buyer’s analysis of which homes to seriously consider. An important consideration for any selling agent that is debating whether or not to include a floor plan in their listing. 

Key Takeaways:

• Geographical diversity in floor plan penetration: 14.5% of listings across a variety of markets contain floor plans. Chicago and Grand Rapids are the cities with the highest number of listings with floor plans (31%) while Jacksonville and St. Louis are the cities with the lowest number of listings with floor plans (6.7% and 4.9%).
• Floor plan usage is growing: The majority of cities have seen a year-over-year increase in the number of listings with floor plans, indicating a growing trend. For instance, cities like Saint Louis and Phoenix showed significant increases from 2.8% to 4.9%, and 5.5% to 8.5% respectively.
• DOM impact of floor plans is highly local: 0.6 days decrease of Days on Market overall, with 5 markets showing a substantial decrease in median DOM (decrease of 10+%), 3 markets showing a slight decrease, 1 market showing a small increase and 1 market showing a large increase (increase of 10+%).
• Higher penetration of floor plan usage results in greater impact: Markets with at least 10% of listings containing floor plans result in an average of 1.4 less DOM, or a decrease of 18%.

About Special Reports

Restb.ai Special Reports are based on unique visual insights from Restb.ai's proprietary AI models. Please let us know here if you have any specific requests as we explore property data in ways never before possible.