91% of Americans “Dreamscroll” Home Listings Above Their Budget

“Doomscrolling” is the term dubbed for excessively scrolling through negative content on the internet and social media, but what about “dreamscrolling” through home listings? 

Ninety-one percent of Americans admit to scrolling through home listings that are outside of their budget, according to a survey by Lombardo Homes. The average dreamscroller spends 2.8 hours per week browsing homes with no intention to buy or rent, most commonly on these real estate platforms: 

1. Zillow (89%) 
2. Realtor.com (52%) 
3. Homes.com (30%) 
4. Redfin (26%) 
5. Trulia (24%)
6. TikTok/Instagram content (16%) 

How big are they dreaming? Forty-five percent said they look at homes 25% over their budget, and 23% said they browse listings 26-50% above theirs. Nine percent reported looking at homes more than double their budget. 

The primary reasons given for scrolling listings were: 

1. Curiosity/entertainment (58%)
2. Passively watching the market (50%) 
3. Actively planning to buy (35%) 
4. Visual inspiration/design ideas (34%) 
5. Mental escape/relaxation (24%) 

Still, dreamscrolling over-budget homes results in a mix of feelings. After scrolling real estate platforms, respondents said they usually: 

1. Feel inspired (38%) 
2. Feel motivated (37%) 
3. Feel financially stressed (21%) 
4. Feel like they’re “falling behind in life” (19%) 
5. Feel more motivated to buy a home (18%) 

Notably, Lombardo Homes ranked Pennsylvania no. 17 on their list of states most obsessed with dreamscrolling. 

It’s not just about scrolling, though. Fifty-one percent said they’ve attended an open house “just for fun,” with 34% reporting that they do so more than once a year.