Buyers Willing to Risk Safety for Affordability
Access to healthcare services, restaurants, bars and coffee shops top the list of trade-offs Gen Zers are willing to make in order to find a home within their budget.
SEATTLE – Nearly one in every five (17.3%) house hunters are willing to sacrifice their physical safety to find a home they can afford within the next year, according to a new report from the real estate brokerage Redfin.
Nearly one in four (23.7%) Gen Z respondents said they are willing to live somewhere less safe for the right price, compared to 18.1% of millennials and 17.5% of Gen Xers. Only 5.5% of Baby Boomers said they would trade their safety. This is according to a Redfin-commissioned survey of roughly 3,000 U.S. homeowners and renters conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024.
Survey respondents indicated they are more willing to sacrifice less-vital housing needs, like the number of bedrooms, but a significant number – especially from younger generations – said they would be willing to exchange their safety for affordability.
“Younger generations have come of age during a housing supply crunch, where prices are at all-time highs. Couple that with them earning less – relative to older generations – and you can see why they are willing to make more serious sacrifices to find a home they can afford,” said Redfin Senior Economist Elijah de la Campa. “When the typical household earns less than is needed to buy or rent a typical home, house hunters can’t afford not to make sacrifices.”
Safety is a common reason why people are moving in the first place
While safety may be seen as a trade-off by some house hunters, roughly the same number of respondents (16.4%) said their concern for safety/crime was at least one of the factors driving their decision to move.
More than one in five Gen Xers (20.8%) said safety/crime was a contributing factor for their move, compared to 17.6% of boomers, 15.3% of millennials and 12.8% of Gen Zers.
Overall, safety concerns were the fourth-most cited reason for wanting to move, behind wanting more space, a lower cost of living and lower home prices – and on the same level as wanting to live near family.
More than 1 in 4 house hunters willing to trade off access to quality schools
Of the housing features presented in the survey, house hunters were most willing to trade off access to their doctor/healthcare amenities (41%), and restaurants, bars and coffee shops (36%) in their bid to secure an affordable home.
More than one in four respondents (26%) said they were willing to trade access to highly-rated schools for a home within their budget. One in three (33%) said they were willing to trade off living in an area where people looked like them, or where the local politics/government reflected their beliefs.
Inside a home, respondents prioritized the number of bedrooms (28% willing to trade off for an affordable home) over square footage (31%) and the number of bathrooms (36%).
House hunters seeking affordability are also willing to make work-related sacrifices. Around 34% said a longer commuting time was something they would consider trading for the right price, while 27% said they would be willing to entertain not having space to work from home.
More than one in four (28%) said they would be willing to live in an area with a higher risk of natural or climate disasters such as fire, flood or poor air quality, if it meant being able to afford a home.
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