Theme Migration
Migrate RealHomes to Houzez without retyping a single listing
Switching your WordPress real estate site from RealHomes to Houzez normally means re-entering every property by hand, because the two themes store property data in completely different custom fields. ListingPress reads your existing RealHomes listings and republishes them as native Houzez properties — price, beds, baths, size, land, features, map location and the full photo gallery converted for you, with descriptions optionally rewritten so the new site reads as original content.
Why switching from RealHomes to Houzez breaks your listings
Both themes use the same property post type, which is why people assume a theme switch will just work. It doesn't. The property data lives in post meta, and the two themes use different keys for it. RealHomes writes a price to REAL_HOMES_property_price; Houzez looks for fave_property_price and finds nothing.
The result is the classic post-switch panic: all your properties still exist, but every listing shows a blank price, no bedrooms, no gallery. The taxonomies clash too — RealHomes uses hyphens (property-type), Houzez uses underscores (property_type) — so your categories disappear from Houzez search and filters as well.
The data has to be converted, not carried over. That conversion is what ListingPress automates.
How to migrate RealHomes to Houzez
- 1
Install the free plugin on your Houzez site
Install the free ListingKit plugin on the new Houzez site and connect it to ListingPress. Nothing is installed on the RealHomes site unless it needs an access route.
- 2
Point it at your RealHomes site
In Property Import, choose 'Another WordPress site' and paste your RealHomes site URL. RealHomes is detected automatically.
- 3
Confirm the field conversion
The RealHomes → Houzez mapping is pre-filled. Review price, size and land units, and adjust anything specific to your setup.
- 4
Map your types and statuses
Preview scans a live sample and maps your existing RealHomes property types and statuses onto Houzez terms, reusing terms you already have instead of creating duplicates.
- 5
Run the migration
Listings publish as native Houzez properties in small background batches, so shared hosting is not overwhelmed. Photos are sideloaded into the media library.
- 6
Rewrite descriptions for SEO
Optionally have every description rewritten so the new Houzez site does not republish text that is already indexed elsewhere.
RealHomes to Houzez field mapping
This is the conversion ListingPress applies to every property. If you were migrating by hand, this is the table you would be working through — for each listing.
| Field | RealHomes | Houzez |
|---|---|---|
| Price | REAL_HOMES_property_price | fave_property_price |
| Price suffix | REAL_HOMES_property_price_postfix | fave_property_price_postfix |
| Bedrooms | REAL_HOMES_property_bedrooms | fave_property_bedrooms |
| Bathrooms | REAL_HOMES_property_bathrooms | fave_property_bathrooms |
| Garage | REAL_HOMES_property_garage | fave_property_garage |
| Size | REAL_HOMES_property_size | fave_property_size |
| Size unit | REAL_HOMES_property_size_postfix | fave_property_size_prefix |
| Lot / land size | REAL_HOMES_property_lot_size | fave_property_land |
| Lot unit | REAL_HOMES_property_lot_size_postfix | fave_property_land_postfix |
| Year built | REAL_HOMES_property_year_built | fave_property_year |
| Address | REAL_HOMES_property_address | fave_property_address |
| Map coordinates | REAL_HOMES_property_location | fave_property_map / fave_property_location |
| Reference ID | REAL_HOMES_property_id | fave_property_id |
| Photo gallery | REAL_HOMES_property_images | fave_property_images |
| Energy class | REAL_HOMES_energy_class | fave_energy_class |
| Featured flag | REAL_HOMES_featured | fave_featured |
Taxonomies are renamed too
| RealHomes | Houzez |
|---|---|
| property-type | property_type |
| property-status | property_status |
| property-city | property_city |
| property-feature | property_feature |
Your existing terms are matched to terms already on the Houzez site where they exist, so a migration doesn't leave you with duplicate "Villa" and "villa" categories to clean up afterwards.
What migrates, and what you'll still do yourself
Migrated for you
- Price, currency suffix and price period
- Bedrooms, bathrooms, garage, size, land size
- Address, city and map coordinates
- Property type, status and features
- Full photo gallery, sideloaded to your media library
- Year built, energy class, reference ID, featured flag
Still on your plate
- Houzez theme setup, design and page templates
- Agent and agency records, which are separate post types
- Redirects from old listing URLs to the new ones
- Any bespoke fields your developer added outside the theme
Don't let the migration cost you rankings
A migration is the moment duplicate content usually appears. If your old RealHomes site stays live while the new Houzez site publishes the same descriptions word for word, you now have two indexed URLs competing with identical text — and Google picks which one to show, not you.
ListingPress can rewrite each description as it migrates, so the Houzez site publishes unique copy from day one. Combined with proper redirects from your old listing URLs, that keeps the equity you have already earned instead of splitting it.
RealHomes to Houzez migration — FAQ
Can I migrate RealHomes to Houzez without retyping every listing?+
Yes. ListingPress reads your published RealHomes listings and republishes them as native Houzez properties, converting the underlying custom fields as it goes. A catalog that would take days to re-enter by hand typically migrates in a single run.
Why can't I just switch themes and keep my listings?+
Because RealHomes and Houzez store property data under completely different meta keys. RealHomes writes REAL_HOMES_property_price, Houzez reads fave_property_price. Switching the theme leaves the posts in place but Houzez cannot see the data, so listings appear blank. The values have to be converted, not just carried over.
Will my photos and galleries come across?+
Yes. Images are sideloaded into your new site's media library and attached to the Houzez gallery field, so the new site owns its images rather than hotlinking the old one.
Does it change anything on my RealHomes site?+
No. The source site is read-only — ListingPress only reads published listings. Your RealHomes site keeps running untouched until you decide to retire it, so you can migrate and verify before switching anything over.
Will migrating create duplicate content problems in Google?+
It can, if you copy descriptions verbatim while the old site is still live — two indexed URLs with identical text. That is why AI rewriting matters here: each description can be rewritten into unique copy, so the new Houzez site reads as original rather than competing with your old pages.
What about property types and statuses I created myself?+
Preview scans a live sample of your feed and maps your existing types and statuses onto terms already present on the Houzez site, so you don't end up with 'Villa' and 'villa' as two separate taxonomy terms.
How much does it cost?+
Importing is free — you can migrate your whole catalog without paying. Paid plans add scheduled auto-sync and unlimited AI description rewriting.
Move your RealHomes catalog to Houzez today
Free to start — migrate your whole catalog, no credit card. Upgrade only for scheduled auto-sync and unlimited AI rewriting.
Start freeRelated: Import listings into Houzez · Migrate between WordPress sites · vs Houzez Property Feed · Pricing