As we wrap up a year defined by homeowners feeling stuck in place, professionals across the industry are forecasting 2025 real estate trends in order to better arm themselves for what lies ahead. Zooming out, both Fannie Mae and Zillow predict mortgage-rate volatility, with the former anticipating numbers above 6% throughout 2025. A result could be the “lock-in effect”—that is, homeowners staying put in homes they’d rather sell. As hard to predict as the world of real estate may be, there are still a handful of more granular trends that seem sure to define 2025. Below, AD PRO presents predictions gleaned from discussions with more than 10 real estate professionals, including agents, developers, designers, stagers, and more.

The Residence, a shoppable showroom at 144 Vanderbilt in Brooklyn, was designed by General Assembly with products from their retail outfit, Assembly Line. William Jess Laird

The model-apartment-as-showroom model will continue its upswing

Certain brands and designers—like Radnor and FrenchCalifornia—have been putting a showroom spin on model residences for years. But in 2024, what began as a slow trickle of new showrooms as model apartments has turned into a steady stream. And from what we’ve heard, there’s likely to be a lot more where that came from in 2025. Some of the best recent examples we’ve seen are in New York City: the Artemest penthouse at The Greenwich by MAWD, FrenchCalifornia and design brand L’Objet’s collab at 212 West 72nd Street, and General Assembly’s two-floor unit (with items from their shop, Assembly Line) in 144 Vanderbilt. These spaces offer a more defined vision of life in the new developments than a typical model residence, and are shoppable, adding another level of turnkey convenience for new residents as they undergo the complicated process of decorating their new home.

“For us, it is about creating an immersive environment that extends the ethos of whichever project the unit is within,” says project manager Josh Bransky of Tankhouse, the developer behind 144 Vanderbilt. “Using the interior design of a model residence as a platform to sell furnishings and pieces allows us to align all of our incentives and reach a new yet relevant audience. It also enables us to work with a wider scale of designers and fabricators who might not normally be able to operate in this space.”