Buyers Are Paying More for Homes With “Emotional ROI" in 2026, According to Real Estate Experts
These are the home features that make buyers’ hearts skip a beat.
A whimsical bathtub alcove in a Chicago home designed by Jess Milburn of North & Madison.
Once upon a time, you could count on a real estate market where you got out what you put in. You’d buy a house you believed would sell well one day, pocket the profit, and move on to your next venture. That’s a simplified way of describing “return on investment,” or ROI—the profitability of a real estate purchase and a key factor in guiding financial decisions.
But increasingly, homebuyers are looking for something beyond financial return. Enter “Emotional ROI.”
“I always tell buyers that if they don't feel some type of emotional excitement when they spend time in a house, then they shouldn't buy that house,” says Kimberly Schmidt, San Diego real estate expert and team lead of Kimberly Schmidt and Associates at Compass. “We are not robots—we are deeply emotional creatures, and our homes are deeply emotional places.”
This emotional dimension of homebuying often shows up in properties with character and unique design elements that “might help capture a different set of buyers than the traditional modern strategies in home selling,” as Maureen McDermut, realtor at Sotheby's International-Montecito, puts it.
So, what exactly is Emotional ROI, and how does it relate to homes with character? Ahead, experts break down what to know.
What Is “Emotional ROI”?
This attic bedroom in a Nantucket home by Kaitlin McQuaide of McQuaide Co. leans into its quirky silhouette with shapes and patterns galore.
McDermut defines Emotional ROI as “the specific intangible feelings your home provides potential buyers. For example, you may have exposed wood beams in your living room that remind a buyer of their grandmother's home, or you may have an updated security system that provides a sense of security.”
Schmidt calls it “the unique pleasure one gets from a place or thing that goes beyond its practical or financial value.”
“It's the reason we gasp and say, ‘Oooh,’ when we see something beautiful or pleasing,” she reflects. “It's that immeasurable emotional appeal of something that brings you a sense of joy and appreciation.”
So, instead of profit, your ROI just might be the emotions and joy that you may experience in the home of your dreams, and this may matter more to you than the bottom line.
Emotional ROI and Homes With Character
What exactly constitutes “character” in a home? As Schmidt explains, today’s character-driven homebuyers are often looking for things like well-preserved vintage tile in the kitchen and baths, original hardwood flooring, detailed moldings and trim, antique glass, wood-beamed ceilings, and charming fireplaces.
The same Nantucket home designed by Kaitlin McQuaide also features a shiplap-covered sitting room.
And it’s not all vintage. Homebuyers are also on the lookout for built-ins, niches, alcoves, and coved ceilings in modern-day homes, as Schmidt adds.
McDermut sees a desire to return to old-fashioned ways of doing things. For instance, some buyers are looking for wood-burning fireplacesrather than gas-powered ones. Some are looking for homes with boilers as opposed to a forced air HVAC system, as they tend to be more energy-efficient.
“Homes with character are usually special—they are unique in some way, and they often have that je ne sais quoi that makes your heart speed up,” Schmidt says. “I tell my buyers that that is the feeling you want to have when you are shopping for a house—that giddy, excited feeling you get when you've made a perfect match.”