Houzez is one of the most popular WordPress themes for real estate websites and is the number one real estate theme on ThemeForest with over 54,000 sales.
It’s widely used by estate agents, developers, and agencies looking for a professional, feature-rich solution out of the box.
But like any theme, Houzez isn’t perfect for every use case.
Below is a breakdown of the key advantages and limitations of Houzez so you can decide whether it’s the right fit for your next property website.
Pros of Using Houzez
Built Specifically for Real Estate
Houzez isn’t a generic WordPress theme adapted for property listings. It’s designed from the ground up for real estate.
Out of the box, you get:
- A property custom post type
- Advanced search and filtering
- Location taxonomies
- Agent and agency profiles
- Map-based listings
- And much more…
This saves a huge amount of setup time compared to building this same functionality from scratch.
Strong Design and Layout Options
Houzez includes a wide range of professionally designed layouts for:
- Homepages (See our tips for creating a high-converting homepage)
- Search results
- Property detail pages
- Agent profiles
It also integrates well with Elementor making it accessible to non-developers while still offering flexibility for advanced users.
Powerful Property Search Experience
Search is one of Houzez strongest features.
You can configure:
- Price ranges
- Bedrooms and bathrooms
- Property types
- Locations and sub-locations
- Advanced filters
For buyers and renters, this creates a familiar, portal-like experience.
Good SEO Foundations
Houzez generates clean URLs, structured content, and indexable property pages.
When paired with a good SEO plugin and well structured location pages and area guides, it performs well in search engines.
Large User Base and Active Community
Because Houzez is so widely used:
- There’s plenty of documentation
- Tutorials and guides are easy to find
- Many hosting providers are familiar with it
This lowers the barrier to entry for new users.
Cons of Using Houzez
No Built-In Automatic Property Feeds
Houzez does not natively support automatic property imports from CRMs, portals, or external feeds.
This means:
- Listings must be added manually, or
- You need a third-party solution to automate imports
For agencies managing more than a handful of properties this quickly becomes a bottleneck.
This is where the Houzez Property Feed plugin is commonly used to fill the gap and is used to manage the automatic importing and exporting of properties.
Can Feel Heavy Without Optimisation
Houzez is feature-rich, but this also means:
- Many scripts
- Large image usage
- Multiple layout options
Without proper hosting, caching, and optimisation, performance can suffer, especially on large sites with thousands of listings.
Learning Curve for New Users
While powerful, Houzez can feel overwhelming at first.
New users often need time to understand:
- Property fields and taxonomies
- Search configuration
- Layout options
- Theme settings (there’s a lot of them)
It’s not “plug-and-play” for everyone.
Advanced Customisation Often Requires Development Knowledge
Basic changes are easy, but deeper customisation (custom search logic, layout overrides, advanced filtering) may require:
- Custom CSS
- Child themes
- PHP hooks
For agencies without technical support, this can be limiting. If opting for Houzez, be wary that you might not be able to control every little minute detail in the templates.
Scalability Depends on Setup
Houzez can scale to thousands of listings but not without:
- Proper hosting
- Database optimisation
- Automated imports
- Media handling
Without these, large sites can become slow or difficult to manage.
So, Is Houzez Worth It?
Houzez is an excellent choice if you want:
- A professional real estate website
- Strong search and listing features
- A polished front-end without building everything yourself
However, it works best when paired with:
- Good hosting
- An SEO plugin
- A caching solution
- A dedicated property feed plugin for automation
For agencies relying on CRMs or external feeds, Houzez is best viewed as the front-end presentation layer, with automation handled separately.
If you’re managing more than a small number of listings or need real-time updates from external systems, you’ll want to pair Houzez with tools that handle automation like the Houzez Property Feed plugin.
Used with the right setup, Houzez is powerful, flexible, and capable of supporting serious real estate websites.