{"id":22956,"date":"2023-11-30T04:31:53","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T12:31:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=22956"},"modified":"2026-04-24T02:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:04:08","slug":"buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is a Ranch House? TV\u2019s Nostalgic Home Style Is Still in Demand"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever watched some of the most beloved sitcoms of the 1970s, 80s, or 90s, you\u2019ve seen a ranch home<\/a>. Shows like The Golden Girls, The Wonder Years, <\/em>and perhaps most notably, The Brady Bunch<\/em>,\u00a0featured ranch-style homes. But what is a ranch house?<\/p>\n

Ranch house styles are one of the most popular home <\/a>styles in the United States today, across cities and suburbs nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n \"homelight\n <\/div>\n \n

Step One: Talk to a Few Buyer's Agents!<\/h3>\n

A top local agent can find the home or lot you’re looking for. Tell us a little bit about your plans, and we’ll connect you with trusted, performance-proven buyer’s agents in your area. It takes only a few minutes, and it’s free.<\/p>\n \n

\n Get Started<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We looked into the history of ranch homes, studied different styles, perks, and challenges, and talked to top real estate agent Shirley Grindel<\/a> with Shirley\u2019s Real Estate Group<\/a> in Washington to find out everything you need to know about this style of home.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

A ranch house by any other name<\/h2>\n

You may know ranch house by its other names: rancher or rambler.<\/a> There are also several different styles of ranch homes that were built as they grew in popularity over the years.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

History of ranch houses<\/h2>\n

Residential ranch houses<\/a> first began appearing in the 1920s. Master architect Cliff May<\/a> is known as the father of the modern ranch house, even though he didn\u2019t design his first home for another decade. Though he didn\u2019t have formal architectural training, he learned his craft on the job and found inspiration in his detailed knowledge of the San Diego region\u2019s Spanish colonial architectural heritage. He based the design style on homes found on Southwestern ranches.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

First ranch-style residences<\/h3>\n

In the 1930s, May designed the first ranch-style residences in San Diego<\/a>. These homes reflected traditional adobe hacienda architecture, with white stucco walls and red clay tile roofs with wood accents, courtyards, and archways. They also featured designs like those found on homes on Southwestern ranches, which were sprawling estates meant to blend in with the countryside but utilized modern materials and construction techniques<\/a>, like brick and stone exteriors.<\/p>\n

At the time, May\u2019s design<\/a> was a radical change because it eliminated the steep roofs, porticoes, tables, dormer windows, and front porches that were common for the time. This shift showed that people were moving away from seeing the home as a formal status symbol and recognizing it as a gathering place. Multi-use rooms replaced the separation of formal entertaining spaces with casual living spaces and brought them together.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Height of popularity<\/h3>\n

Ranch homes became infinitely more popular with the post-war middle class of the 1940s. They were so popular that by the 1950s, nine out of 10 homes built were ranch-style homes<\/a>. As people began moving into the suburbs after World War II, suburban ranch homes<\/a> were where the American Dream came to life.<\/p>\n

Returning soldiers wanted to move out of their city apartments, own land, and build a different, suburban life for their families. The ease of construction and customizability made ranch homes a trendy option. Because of the war, home-building products were scarce. Hence, the suburban ranch was also the first time companies started mass-producing homes using tract, or mass-produced, materials \u2014 meaning they could be more easily and quickly constructed.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, even though the homes are quite young, any ranch home built before 1964 is considered historic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Cycling out<\/h3>\n

By the 1970s, the popularity of the ranch-style home was fading. Land was getting more expensive and the energy crisis was causing utility prices to rise. The next generation of homeowners started favoring larger homes with more modern designs, as opposed to their parents\u2019 homes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Renewed interest<\/h3>\n

The 1990s brought a revival of interest in the rancher that continues today. Young buyers are drawn to them because they can be more affordable in a difficult market, and downsizing<\/a> older buyers like them because the single-story living makes for easier home navigation as they age.<\/p>\n

Most neighborhoods featuring ranch houses are well-established and often feature larger lots and mature, full-grown trees<\/a> uncommon in new construction developments.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a ranch house? Learn about the history and style of these unique properties as well as the pros and cons of making a ranch house your own.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":39333,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,638,641],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-house-hunting","category-find-home"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMore Than a Home, Home on the Range: What is a Ranch House?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is a ranch house? Learn about the history and style of these unique properties as well as the pros and cons of making a ranch house your own.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Is a Ranch House? TV\u2019s Nostalgic Home Style Is Still in Demand\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is a ranch house? Learn about the history and style of these unique properties as well as the pros and cons of making a ranch house your own.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-30T12:31:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-24T09:04:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/what-is-a-ranch-house-.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abbey Harris\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abbey Harris\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"More Than a Home, Home on the Range: What is a Ranch House?","description":"What is a ranch house? Learn about the history and style of these unique properties as well as the pros and cons of making a ranch house your own.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Is a Ranch House? TV\u2019s Nostalgic Home Style Is Still in Demand","og_description":"What is a ranch house? Learn about the history and style of these unique properties as well as the pros and cons of making a ranch house your own.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/","og_site_name":"HomeLight Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","article_published_time":"2023-11-30T12:31:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-24T09:04:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/what-is-a-ranch-house-.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Abbey Harris","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@gohomelight","twitter_site":"@gohomelight","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Abbey Harris","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/"},"author":{"name":"Abbey Harris","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5f29e9458f97b493cbaaa3bdb00c5160"},"headline":"What Is a Ranch House? TV\u2019s Nostalgic Home Style Is Still in Demand","datePublished":"2023-11-30T12:31:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-24T09:04:08+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/"},"wordCount":701,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/what-is-a-ranch-house-.png","articleSection":["Buyers","House Hunting","What's Out There?"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/","name":"More Than a Home, Home on the Range: What is a Ranch House?","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/what-is-a-ranch-house-.png","datePublished":"2023-11-30T12:31:53+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-24T09:04:08+00:00","description":"What is a ranch house? Learn about the history and style of these unique properties as well as the pros and cons of making a ranch house your own.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/what-is-a-ranch-house-.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/what-is-a-ranch-house-.png","width":1000,"height":563,"caption":"Source: (karamysh \/ Shutterstock"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-ranch-house\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What Is a Ranch House? TV\u2019s Nostalgic Home Style Is Still in Demand"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","name":"HomeLight Blog","description":"Real Estate Advice from America's Top Agents","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"HomeLight","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/logo-hr-color.png","width":1348,"height":262,"caption":"HomeLight"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/","https:\/\/x.com\/gohomelight","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/homelight\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCimugR9XF17-OZ7B9fNnxWw","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/HomeLight"],"description":"Everything you need to know to sell your house faster and for more money. Articles, guides, and advice from top agents all over the U.S.","email":"support@homelight.com","telephone":"(888) 688-0350","legalName":"HomeLight","foundingDate":"2012-01-01","numberOfEmployees":{"@type":"QuantitativeValue","minValue":"201","maxValue":"500"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5f29e9458f97b493cbaaa3bdb00c5160","name":"Abbey Harris","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a91f41510abd0b9af259c585e7d76b013c14e4761e763828517c289a940483d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a91f41510abd0b9af259c585e7d76b013c14e4761e763828517c289a940483d4?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Abbey Harris"},"description":"Abbey Harris is a writer and communications specialist based in Knoxville. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in business and communication, and a Master of Science in communications\/public relations from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In her spare time, she can be found advising on amateur home decorating and DIY home improvement projects.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/abbey-harris-3509198\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/author\/abbey-harris\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}