Why Kanban Works for House Hunting
House hunting is a team sport with dozens of moving parts: new listings every day, viewings to schedule, notes to compare, offers to prepare. A simple kanban board turns the chaos into a calm, repeatable workflow you can run for any search—buying, long-term renting, or short-term stays.
Homi gives you an out-of-the-box board that adapts to your goal and keeps everyone aligned in one place.
The Board at a Glance
Columns:
- Incoming
- Qualified
- Will View
- Will Bid/Apply/Book
- Acquired/Leased/Booked
- Lost/Rejected/Unavailable
Stage names adapt automatically to your intent:
- Buying: Will Bid → Acquired
- Long-term rental: Apply → Leased
- Short-term rental: Will Book → Booked
Set Up Your Board in 5 Minutes
- Create a collection in Homi and choose your intent (Buy, Rent, Short-term).
- Add your collaborators (partner, family, agent). Sharing is unlimited on the Free plan.
- Install the browser extension and save listings from sites like Zillow.com and Finn.no. Homi extracts key data automatically.
- Add your search criteria: price range, neighborhoods, must-haves, nice-to-haves.
- Turn on smart alerts to catch price drops and new matches.
Column-by-Column Checklists
Incoming
- Save listing via extension or paste URL; confirm auto-extracted data
- Tag quickly (see Tagging Conventions below)
- De-duplicate and archive obvious no-fits
- Quick triage rating (1–5) and "Why" note in one sentence
Qualified
- Meets must-haves and budget sanity check
- Commute times and school district rating added
- Price per sq ft/m² compared to area median
- Add 3–5 benchmark bullets (what makes it competitive)
- Assign an owner and due date for next action
Will View
- Book viewing or open house; add calendar time
- Prepare questions for agent/landlord
- Upload pre-approval or proof of funds (buying) / documents (renting)
- Walkability, noise, and sunlight notes template ready in the mobile app
- Set a post-view debrief task
Will Bid/Apply/Book
- Confirm benchmarks: this property beats your current best on key criteria
- Pull 3 comps and note pricing rationale
- Draft offer letter or application; attach docs
- Set automated status alerts (price changes, competing offers)
- Define your walk-away line to avoid over-bidding
Acquired/Leased/Booked
- Track contingencies and deadlines (inspection, appraisal, deposit)
- Utilities, movers, change-of-address checklist
- Store lease or purchase agreement
- Post-mortem note: what worked in this search
Lost/Rejected/Unavailable
- Record why it was lost (price, timing, terms)
- Tag with reason codes for reporting
- Keep photos/notes for learning; close the loop with collaborators
Tagging Conventions That Scale
Use short, consistent prefixes so filters and analytics stay clean across cities and searches:
- n: Neighborhood (
n:Grünerløkka, n:UpperWestSide)
- b: Budget band (
b:<500k, b:2–2.5k)
- t: Type (
t:condo, t:single-family, t:studio, t:short-term)
- beds: (
beds:1, beds:3+)
- must: Non-negotiables (
must:parking, must:elevator)
- nice: Preferences (
nice:view, nice:balcony)
- deal: Price flags (
deal:price-drop, deal:under-median)
- status: Internal state (
status:hot, status:backup)
Pro tip: Create saved filters like "n:Mission AND b:2–2.5k AND must:laundry" to power quick daily reviews.
Automations That Save Hours (Homi+)
Turn on any of these per collection when you're ready for power tools:
- Smart benchmarking: Homi compares price per sq ft/m², neighborhood scores, and commute times to your saved set, flagging outliers and "beats benchmark" candidates.
- Decision triggers: Get an alert when a new listing surpasses your best-so-far criteria.
- Auto-checklists: When a card moves to Will View, attach a viewing checklist; when it moves to Will Bid/Apply/Book, attach an offer/application checklist.
- Summary notes: AI turns long listing text into a 5-bullet digest with pros, cons, and questions to ask.
- Attention analytics: See which cards your collaborators view, comment on, and rate most. Great for aligning a family or prioritizing clients.
Views You'll Use Every Week
- Board: Move cards left to right and keep work-in-progress sane.
- Table: Sort by price per sq ft/m² or commute time to your workplace.
- Map: Visualize clusters and transit access.
- Timeline: See your week of viewings at a glance.
- Reports (Homi+): Win/loss reasons, average days in stage, and price trends by neighborhood.
How It Works for Different Searches
Buying
- Focus on comps, financing readiness, and "walk-away" rules in Will Bid.
- Automations: Decision triggers, benchmark alerts, offer checklist.
Long-Term Rental
- Emphasize document prep and speed in Will Apply.
- Automations: Price-drop alerts, application checklist, attention analytics to coordinate roommates.
Short-Term Stay
- Prioritize dates, cancellation policy, and neighborhood vibe.
- Automations: Availability alerts, booking checklist, map view filters.
Collaboration Without the Chaos
- Comments for context, reactions for quick alignment, and @mentions to assign tasks.
- Shared ratings: Everyone adds a 1–5 score; Homi shows average and spread to surface disagreements.
- Weekly recap: Homi can generate a digest of new matches, top performers, and decisions pending.
A 15-Minute Weekly Ritual
- Clear Incoming to zero using your saved filters.
- Advance 3–5 cards to Will View; keep the rest parked.
- Review benchmarks and update your current "one to beat."
- Close the loop on Lost and document why.
- Decide: Are you ready to move one card to Will Bid/Apply/Book?
Starter Templates
Search the Homi template gallery for "House-Hunting Kanban" to duplicate:
- Buying (with comps and offer checklists)
- Long-term rental (with application checklist)
- Short-term stay (with date and cancellation fields)
Your Next Step
Start with Homi Free for unlimited collections and collaboration. When you want automated benchmarks, decision triggers, and analytics, upgrade just the one collection you care about with Homi+.
It's home hunting made organized, social, and fun—worldwide.
Ready to bring clarity to your house hunt? Get started with Homi today and turn chaos into your next home.
Kristian Elset Bø