Zillow just released its 2026 Home Trends Report, which analyzes millions of homes listed for sale over the past year to determine what’s in, what’s out, and what’s new in the world of home buying and selling. As it turns out, more and more people are looking to bring their self-care home — specifically, to their bathroom.

Zillow’s 2026 Home Trends report reveals that “spa-inspired bathrooms are appearing 22% more often” on listings, and “mentions of wellness features rose 33%.” This isn’t exactly a shock; Zillow’s 2025 Home Trends Report, also covered by Apartment Therapy, has tracked the change in what buyers and sellers want in their bathrooms. 

That 2025 report found that “wet rooms” were “featured 19% more often in listings on Zillow” compared with the prior year, and in general, people who list their homes were more 16% inclined to talk about the property’s “wellness features.” The fact that these trends continued to hold strong the following year makes sense, but they haven’t just persisted; they’ve become even more popular. It’s safe to say the pursuit of a luxurious bathroom experience isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

From the name alone, a “wet room” may conjure images of damp countertops and puddles on the floor. Don’t worry, it’s much more luxurious than that. Wet rooms are a more compact style of bathroom historically more popular in other countries like Sweden. If a standard American bathroom setup is a cubicle, a wet room is an open-plan office. 

This means instead of a distinct shower/tub combo, or a totally separate shower and tub that have nothing to do with one another, the whole bathroom is kind of like one big shower. “As you are not as confined to the standard sizing requirements of showers and tubs, you can create a much more open, airy, and uncluttered bathroom layout,” interior designer Tamarra Younis told Apartment Therapy in 2023. They can also be easier to clean, since you can just spray everything down. Plus, folks might have a tub in the corner of a wet room, making a luxurious shower/bath combo an entire experience.

It’s not just about wet rooms; Zillow’s newest report mentions the broader category of “spa-inspired bathrooms,” which can mean anything from a wet room to a sleek groutless shower to a bathroom with an upgraded showerhead, candles, and towel warmers.

Choosing a bathroom with an expansive groutless shower instead of a bathtub isn’t just for those seeking extra luxury or making the most of a small space. It can also be more accessible: Since you have to step into a tub, it can be dangerous for people with mobility issues and might not make sense if you’re in the last home you ever plan on owning. With a wet room, you don’t have to maneuver in or out of the shower, and in some smaller rooms (like this one remodeled by Portland-based Hammer & Hand), the toilet can double as a shower seat.

For all the people eyeing a wet room or spa-like bathroom remodel, there are plenty of others who are perfectly content with their tub. It can also have its own kind of “wellness features.” As Andrew Hancock, president of Gilman Heating, Cooling & Plumbing told Apartment Therapy in 2024, bathtubs are “evolving into a luxury feature rather than a standard one,” and the right soaking tub can “turn a bathroom into a real retreat.” 

Ultimately, you can do whatever you want with your own space. If you want to hold on to your beloved claw-foot tub, please do. But at the same time, if you’ve been considering tearing it all down for the sauna-inspired shower of your dreams (or of the buyer who will buy your house one day’s dreams), now’s a prime time to get your feet wet.