The Disappearing Home Feature Buyers Still Want

I’ve never had a dining room as an adult, which is largely because I’ve rented apartments without one. There was one in my family’s home, with a big table and nice upholstered chairs, but my strongest memory of that dining room is that I was never quite sure why it was called that if we almost always ate at the smaller table in our combined kitchen and family room.

As it turns out, I wasn’t alone in that thinking. In 2024, many outlets, Apartment Therapy included, covered the “disappearing dining room” phenomenon, which showed that homeowners prefer “a combined dining and kitchen area,” whether they have a home with a dining room or not. But a more recent survey shows that buyers and homeowners may be moving away from this mindset in favor of embracing the dining room’s communal potential.

Dining rooms may be disappearing, but desire for them seems to be increasing, according to a July 2026 survey conducted by Rocket Mortgage. The company polled 3,000 Americans between the ages of 18 and 75 about aspects of a home they most value, and found that “93% of buyers are looking for a home with dedicated dining space for hosting.” This is at least partially due to the fact that people are looking to save money by going out less, but it also speaks to valuing quality time with one’s community.

While there’s something undeniably nice about people wanting their home to double as a place for entertaining and hospitality, the modern housing market doesn’t always make that easy. However, that doesn’t seem to be dissuading folks; according to the survey, “one in five current homeowners have renovated specifically to better host friends and family.” 

Rocket Mortgage’s survey didn’t just find that buyers want an established space to host dinner parties specifically; they want their home to feel like a welcoming place overall. Sharing meals stands out as a priority, as “67% want a spacious kitchen where people naturally gather,” but 69% of respondents were also inclined towards “a large living or family room” and 58% said “gathering spaces” were a “must-have.”

People also seem to recognize that a hosting-friendly house isn’t always cheap. Gen Z respondents in particular said they’d consider paying “a premium of 6% or more on the total price of a home” to ensure they’re living somewhere with “hosting-friendly areas.” If people do in fact want to spend more time at home, it’s nice to hear they don’t want to stay in alone.