It’s no secret that the housing market is currently in shambles. Many Millennials and Gen Zers are abandoning hope of ever owning a home, meanwhile the ultra-wealthy seem to keep snatching up properties as if they’re collectables. And even if you manage to find plenty of home listings in your area, you might quickly realize that none of them are places you would ever be interested in inhabiting.
We took a trip to the Nightmare On Zillow Street Facebook group and compiled a list of their most amusing photos below. From toilets that have fish tanks attached to living rooms with disco lights poles for dancing, these homes certainly aren’t lacking in creativity. We hope you’ll enjoy this virtual house tour, and be sure to upvote the homes that catch your eye!
#1 Holy Hell
Image credits: Mandi Miller Martinez
#2 Guys This House Is A Wild Ride
Image credits: Taysha Tutt
#3 It’s My In Laws House And Yes, That Is Carpet Around A Sunken Bathtub
Image credits: Thoma Sarah
The Nightmare On Zillow Street Facebook group has only been around since 2020, but it has seen immense success. The community has amassed a whopping 214K members, and it continues to grow every single week. According to the administrators of the group, it’s meant to be a place to collect home photo listings that make you think, “WTF?” And clearly, there’s no shortage of those kinds of homes on Zillow.
Some homes appear terrifying from the outside, whether they look like severe hazards or feature extremely questionable taste. And other houses appear relatively normal at first glance, but once you get a peek of the inside, you realize there’s a good reason why they haven’t sold yet. No home is perfect, but very few of these have enough potential to entice buyers.
#4 Felt Like It Belonged Here
Image credits: Carly Wilson
#5 Toured A House With My Fiancé Today Where The Foundation Was Clearly Not Great (You Could See The Floor Was Slanted In Some Rooms). We Got To The “Basement” And Found This
Image credits: Allison Druckemiller
#6 I’ll Just Leave This Right Here
Image credits: Robin Isabella
Growing up, I used to accompany my mom to countless open houses. Even if my parents had no real interest in moving at the time, she just wanted to know what was out there. Plus, it’s fun to be nosy and take advantage of the rare opportunity to get a glimpse inside someone else’s house. And it can be a great way to get inspiration for how to decorate your own home.
As an adult, I have to admit that I never attend open houses. But nowadays, there’s no need to leave your couch! No matter where you are, you can pull up Zillow on your phone or laptop and have a field day critiquing other people’s homes. And apparently, this is such a common pastime that HuffPost published an article breaking down “Why Browsing Zillow Feels So Good.”
#7 Metallica
Image credits: Josh Shaw
#8 I Found One!!! Poles Included
Image credits: Nicholas Yanes
#9 Don't Worry, The Window Will Stop Your Fall
Image credits: Jeffrey Janusch
According to psychiatrist Lea Lis, scrolling through home listings became a way for young singles to fill the void when they couldn't use dating apps during the pandemic. Instead of swiping through potential matches, they decided that they could instead peruse gorgeous (or ugly) homes.
Many also enjoy romanticizing the idea of moving outside of the expensive cities that they currently reside in, where they’ll likely never be able to afford homes. “They are wanting to escape from cities to a simpler, more green life. This has become more appealing for many, creating the mass exodus that cities like New York and Boston have experienced,” Lis told HuffPost.
#10 There’s Actually A Lot I Love About The House And Property … But This Gives New Meaning To The Phrase Porcelain Throne
Image credits: Danielle Marie
#11 I Thought I Had Seen It All... But I Stand Corrected
Image credits: Liv Robinson
#12 At First Glance $1000/Month Looks Like A Heck Of A Deal In A City Where Rents Go For Much Higher
Until you realize it’s just a bedroom and you have to babysit the landlord’s kids and clean their house!! You’re paying them $1000/month to be their live-in nanny! Sacré bleu!!!
Image credits: Estelle Matheson
Scrolling through Zillow can also be a great form of escapism and daydreaming. Most of us have imagined our dream homes since we were kids playing MASH during recess. But very few of us will ever have the opportunity to build a home; we might not even be able to purchase one!
So the next best thing is seeing what’s out there and critiquing them from the comfort of our own homes (or more likely, our own apartments). Plus, we can get an idea of what the housing market is like in other cities or states that we might not have ever considered moving to. As Dan Levy stated in the “Zillow” SNL skit, “I’d never live in North Carolina, but if I did, I could buy a big, gross mansion.”
#13 What In The Skittles?
Image credits: Maddy Casey
#14 This Is Just Horrifying
Image credits: Gage Wiebe
#15 But Why?
Image credits: Jenna Booth
While you probably wouldn’t actually be interested in purchasing any of the homes on this list, it is true that there’s something out there for everyone. And according to Michelle Mastro at Business Insider, wacky homes have become increasingly popular in recent years. Zillow Gone Wild communities on social media have even inspired an HGTV show by the same name! Nowadays, real estate agents “actively try to juice up the bizarre elements of their homes” to try to attract the attention of quirky buyers, Mastro explains.
#16 Why?
Image credits: Susannah Winfield
#17 Cullman, Alabama— This Is A Local Landmark Know As “The Castle”. It’s Located On The Beautiful Waters Of Smith Lake. This Private Residence Is Quite An Interesting Anomaly
Image credits: Michael Feder
#18 This House Came On The Market In My Hometown And My Husband And I Knew We Were Going To Buy It Regardless Of What It Looked Like On The Inside
We absolutely adore it and see it for everything it will be when we’re done with it. However, we are enjoying the unique designs that are currently in it lol
Image credits: Kayla Kaminski
If you’re actually using Zillow to find a home that you love and want to purchase, the platform has some tips on how to find the perfect match. First, they recommend customizing your notifications. Houses tend to sell quickly, so you’ll want to know immediately when something that fits your criteria is uploaded. You can also make sure that you’re informed as soon as a house you’re interested in is updated.
#19 Hm
Image credits: Bridget Murphy
#20 Photo Taken By Me Yesterday In A House In Everett, Wa. Amber Is Only 5’10”
Image credits: Heather Fischer
#21 Convenience
Image credits: Todd Harkleroad
Utilizing Zillow’s feature that allows you to save homes can also be helpful. You can see all of the listings you’re interested in in one place, and you can even compare your saved homes side-by-side. Meanwhile, when you’re searching for new homes, Zillow recommends searching for exactly what you would say out loud if you were describing your dream home. Their “natural language search tool” allows you to type in precisely what you want, without the hassle of toggling a bunch of filters.
#22 Excuse My Screenshot But This Came From A Friend Who Went To Look At A House Recently. Can't Decide If This Is A Nightmare Or Pretty Cool. Aquarium Toilet Tank
Image credits: Melanie Lynn Robinette
#23 In All Of My Home Searching, I Have Yet To Come Across Anything That I Would Consider A True “Nightmare”, But This Bathroom Does It For Me
Image credits: Brittany Owens
#24 This Exists And It Is Awful
Image credits: Krissy Aldrich
Are you enjoying your scroll through all of these interesting homes, pandas? Keep upvoting the ones that you find particularly shocking, and let us know in the comments below if you’ve ever come across any nightmare listing on Zillow. Then, if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda list featuring real estate listings, we recommend visiting this article next!
#25 Welcome Home
Image credits: Jeffrey Chan
#26 Honestly It's A Nice House And The Price Is Average For The Area But The Bathroom Walls Give Me Anxiety
Image credits: Bobbie Bomber
#27 Something Terrifying Definitely Happened Here LOL
Image credits: Carolyn Cuesta
#28 Looking At A Property Today. Found This In One Of The Outbuildings
We all can make an educated guess as to what the purpose was here. It's an incredibly bizarre find and a terribly sad reality. I spent a little bit of time investigating and taking pictures, but came across enough evidence to convince me that it hasn't been used for it's intended function since sometime in 2009. Beyond that, most everything else has been cleared out.
Image credits: Phillip C Martin
#29 Prepper 101: The Most Important Thing Is To Be Organized
Image credits: Sandra Loomans
#30 Umm
Image credits: Parthena Bowman
#31 Hm
Image credits: Christina Derrig
#32 So Late 60s
Image credits: Jacob Walker
#33 Wife And I Looked At House Today, I Opened The Door To What I Thought Was An Under Stairs Closet Or Stairs To The Basement. It Appears To Be Half Of A Half Bath...would This Be A 1/4 Bath??
Image credits: Bill Schnefel
#34 It Looks Like A College Party House For Sure
Image credits: Natalie Ramirez
#35 Saw This Today Near My Home… What Is The Point? Is This A Bed For Flat Stanley? Hoping It’s Just The Angle But I’m Not So Sure
Image credits: Kate Rogers
#36 Does The Horse Come With The House…i Kinda Like It
Image credits: Hellen Sisneros
#37 This House Is Empty Except For A Large Collection Of Dolls….yeah Not Creepy At All
Image credits: Stephanie Walrath Shultz
#38 I Think Whoever Owns This Has A Very Specific Line Of Work
Image credits: Jennifer Lynn
#39 I Haven’t Decided If I Like This Or Not And Would Like Y’all’s Opinion On The Matter Please
Image credits: Ryan Cota
#40 This Looks Like A Final Destination Scene
Image credits: Hollie Murphy
#41 Seller Asks You To Keep An Open Mind
Image credits: Christopher Troy
#42 Let's Talk About This Bathroom Design
This is in my neighborhood, and many of the houses had this bathroom where you walk up steps (to our right), past the soaking tub, to the shower above the tub. Seriously, who in his/her mind thought this was a good idea?
Image credits: Bekah Hoover Timmons
#43 “Beautifully Renovated Ranch”
Image credits: Michelle Fink-Donnelly
#44 Although This "Rustic Cabin" Does Not Have A Bathroom, Do Not Worry, As The Purchase Price Includes A Complete Set Of Plastic Holding Vessels
Image credits: Chad Leinenkugels Breweriana Picker
#45 Zebra House
Image credits: Rebecca McCrory
#46 Can Someone Please Explain To Me What Exactly Is Going On In This Basement?
Image credits: Erin Price
#47 Yuck!
Image credits: Melissa Hughes Rich
#48 This House Was A Shock To Everyone When It Sold
It was not really safe to live in. We all thought it was going to be torn down. But the new owners had a plan. He doubled his money after paying what most people would not.
Image credits: Siu Ling AK
#49 A Realtor Friend Just Posted This On His Wall. Yes, Those Are Beehives
Image credits: Frank Vincent
#50 It Would Be More Effective At The Bottom Of Basement Stairs
Image credits: Robert Keys
