How To Win a House in a Seller’s Market: A Complete Guide
August 5, 2025Should I Sell My House and Rent When I Retire?
August 5, 2025
Home shopping can come with the pressure to find your “dream” house that’s ready for move-in. However, existing houses come with character baked in, and you may find you’ll need to make some compromises when touring homes.
Our house wish list is designed to help you compromise on the less important features. When you don’t sweat the little things, like the pink bathroom begging for a fresh coat of paint, you can focus on your true priorities, such as a yard with plenty of space to build a treehouse and share summer stories with your kids.
A customizable home wish list provides a house-hunting guide for you and your real estate agent. Read on for our tips on identifying what you love in a house and a wish list template to help you find the perfect(ish) fit.
House-hunting wish list template
A house wish list helps you identify what home features are most and least important. It’s also a communication tool to help buyers, their families and real estate agents get on the same page when starting the house hunt.
Knowing what home features and styles you’re shopping for before you schedule tours will save you and your home buying team time when browsing listings. If you’re not entirely sure what you want in a house, our home buyer wish list can help you organize your priorities.
You can also customize your house wish list with our spreadsheet template below. Download a copy to mark your needs and wants, and add your own preferred features. This spreadsheet also includes a house-hunting checklist to track the houses you’re interested in.
Once you’ve created your wish list, comb through and see if there are opportunities to reduce your number of needs to make home shopping easier. If you’re stuck choosing between two properties, a concise and detailed list can also help you decide which of two houses meets your needs best.
1. Identify needs vs. wants
While nothing’s impossible, you’re unlikely to buy a house that has everything you want as-is. Identifying your needs and wants helps you understand what you’re willing to compromise on, so you can compare houses and make a confident buying decision.
Needs are absolute must-haves for your life. There are certain fixed needs, like the sale price fitting in your home buying budget. Some needs are personal to you, like an artist who needs space to store canvases and supplies.
Examples of needs can include:
- Price range
- Number of bedrooms
- Non-carpeted homes for accessibility
- Fenced yard for safety
Wants are features you can compromise on. You may have always wanted a primary suite with a spa tub, and it can definitely sweeten a deal, but you won’t pass up a house that meets your needs because it doesn’t have a Jacuzzi.
Wants can include things like:
- Walk-in closets
- Two-car garage
- Kitchen island
- Wraparound porch
Wants and needs can both be personal to your lifestyle. If you really can’t imagine your life without a walk-in pantry, you can definitely add it to your needs, or choose a home that you can renovate to include the perfect pantry.
However, it will be hard to find a house with a huge list of needs. If you find yourself with too many needs, revisit your wish list a week or two later to trim it down. Also consider a list of “don’t wants,” which can be just as helpful when house shopping.
2. Know what you don’t want
Think back to everywhere you’ve lived and list what you loved and hated. You may remember trying to bake your signature cakes in your first studio apartment and the frustration of trying to work with too little countertop space.
If you don’t want a ladder to dust your ceiling fans every week, then vaulted ceilings just aren’t for you. And that’s a helpful thing to know about yourself, especially when you’re buying a home you’ll live in for years, maybe decades to come.
Once you have a list of everything you don’t want in a home, you can categorize these by importance just like the needs and wants. If you have a house-hunting partner, compare and combine your lists to guide your home buying journey.
3. Prioritize home fixtures
Another key part of house shopping is distinguishing between home fixtures and home features. Some parts of your house are easier to fix than others, and difficult or expensive upgrades you’re not ready to make should be avoided.
Home fixtures aren’t easily changed without investing in renovations. While you can add an additional bedroom or swap all of your cabinets for a new design, they’re not cheap or simple weekend projects.
Home features, on the other hand, aren’t built-in aspects of your home. If you fall in love with a home that meets all of your needs, but you hate the ’70s shag carpet in the den, you can swap it for laminate yourself.
When you’re touring a home and considering what you like and don’t like, stay mindful of how fixable something is. Things like wallpaper and flooring are important but fixable. However, you can’t make your property bigger or ceilings lower.
4. Consider location priorities
Your home’s location can impact your happiness, hobbies and overall lifestyle. There’s a lot to consider when deciding where you want to move, including:
- Neighborhood safety
- Local amenities
- Entertainment
- Community culture
- School ratings
- Commute to work
First is the neighborhood itself. Neighborhood amenities like retail options and green space can affect your health and satisfaction.1 Social butterflies who look forward to meeting new friends over coffee will appreciate living near local shops, while families may prefer a quiet neighborhood where their kids can safely ride bikes between friends’ houses.
You should also consider how a new location affects the flow of your day-to-day life. Learn more about the local schools, where the nearest grocery store is and how long it will take you to commute to work.
It’s a good idea to visit a neighborhood during different times of the day to get a feel for the community. If the new house is near a freeway, rush hour traffic can have huge implications on your commute. If you’d be moving across from a park, visit and see how busy and loud it gets on weekends and evenings.
Consider visiting the neighborhood during:
- School pick-up and drop-off (8 a.m. and 3 p.m.)
- Rush hour traffic (8 a.m. and 5 p.m.)
- Evenings and weekends
This also opens up opportunities for you to chat with neighbors and learn more about the area before you commit. Even if you decide a neighborhood isn’t right for you, you’ll have a better idea of what to look for the next time you’re touring a home in a new location.
5. Communicate with your real estate agent
If you combine an experienced real estate agent with great communication, you’ll have the key to your new home and a positive home buying experience to boot. A house wish list is a helpful communication tool to get you there.
Once you’ve identified your home goals, send your wish list to your real estate agent to work together on a home buying plan.
Of course, your real estate agent isn’t the only one browsing homes online. Your friends and family are great support systems when making big buying decisions. They’ll also have unique house-shopping perspectives to share.
Ask your friends and family what they love about their home using this Instagram wish list and story polls. You get to take advantage of word-of-mouth recommendations and learn from others’ experiences of what is and isn’t a must-have home feature.
Questions to ask while home shopping
Once you’re ready to home shop, there are a few questions to ask to set yourself up for success.
First, work to identify your home buying goals:
- How long will you live in this house?
- What do you absolutely need in a house?
- What core fixtures can you compromise on?
- Who else has a say in the house you buy?
Next, try to identify your needs after closing and when it’s time to move in:
- Are you willing to remodel?
- What upgrades are you willing to make?
- How much home maintenance can you commit to?
Finally, think about your long-term needs as a future homeowner:
- How will your needs change in 5 and 10 years?
- Will your family grow while you live here?
- How likely are you to move sooner than currently planned?
- How might your accessibility needs change in the future?
The answers to these questions can build a foundation for your home needs. You can also refer back to them as you’re building your house wish list. For example, you may be willing to sacrifice a backyard now, but will you want one later for future kids or pets?
Take note of the questions you ask and things you acknowledge as you start house hunting, too. If you notice one home’s gutters are falling, you can make a note to pay closer attention to the gutters and roofs of other homes.
The bottom line
House hunting is exciting for repeat and new homeowners alike. It’s also a new adventure for many, and your time, budget and home expectations can add pressure to the experience.
A house wish list is a valuable tool to organize your expectations, communicate with your home buying team and roadmap how you browse and tour homes. When you know what you want and don’t want in a house, you can better buy with confidence that the house you choose is right for you.
The post The Complete House Wish List to Help You Find Your Dream Home appeared first on Redfin | Real Estate Tips for Home Buying, Selling & More.
