- 17.3% of house hunters, overall, would trade off their safety to find an affordable home.
- Concern for safety is also a common reason why people are looking to move in the first place.
- Access to healthcare services, restaurants, bars and coffee shops top the list of trade-offs house hunters are willing to make in order to find a home within their budget.
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.
That’s according to a Redfin-commissioned survey conducted by Qualtrics in February 2024. The nationally representative survey was fielded to 2,995 U.S. homeowners and renters. This report focuses on 669 respondents who indicated they “definitely” or “probably” will move to a new home in the next year. We gave them a range of features and asked: “When thinking about the next home you live in, which of the following do you consider a must-have feature versus a feature you’d be willing to trade off in order to afford a home?” Respondents were also given the option to choose “Does not apply to me.”
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.
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.
“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 our 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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