Nearly a quarter of Gen Z house hunters are willing to live in an area perceived to be less safe due to affordability concerns, according to a new report from Redfin.
The share of Gen Z respondents willing to sacrifice safety is much higher than millennials (18.1%), Gen X (17.5%), and baby boomers (5.5%). Overall, 17.3% of house hunters said they would be willing to sacrifice perceived physical safety in order to find a home they could afford in the next year.
“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 serious sacrifices to find a home they can afford,” says 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.”
At the same time house hunters said they were willing to trade safety for affordability, safety was also cited as a significant factor driving decisions to move, according to Redfin. More than one in five Gen X respondents said safety and crime was a contributing factor for their move, compared to 17.6% of baby boomers, 15.3% of millennials, and 12.8% of Gen Z respondents.
In addition to safety, survey respondents indicated they would be more willing to sacrifice the number of bathrooms and square footage during their housing search. Of the interior home aspects, respondents were least willing to compromise on the number of bedrooms.
Of the features presented in the Redfin survey, house hunters were most willing to trade access to doctor and healthcare amenities and access to restaurants, bars, and coffee shops in their search for a home.
More than one in four respondents said they were willing to trade access to highly-rated schools for a home within their budget. Around 34% of house hunters said they would be willing to accept a longer commute to find the right home while 27% of respondents said they would be willing to accept a home without having an office space for remote work.
The responses were generated from a Redfin-commissioned survey of approximately 3,000 homeowners and renters conducted by Qualtrics.
