While safety tops the list of homebuyers’ top concerns, many buyers say they are willing to consider buying in high-risk areas in exchange for affordable housing, a new report shows.
Despite ranking high on homebuyers’ top concerns, many buyers say they are willing to sacrifice safety and consider properties in high-risk areas in exchange for more affordable housing, a new report shows.
The report released today by Redfin found that nearly 17.3 percent of potential homebuyers would be willing to sacrifice their security if it meant finding a home within their budget.
The survey compared the willingness of different age groups to move to neighborhoods that are less safe due to affordability. If the price is right, 23.7% of Gen Z participants would live in a less safe place, compared with 18.1% of Millennials and 17.5% of Gen Xers.
Baby boomers appear to be the least willing to move to less safe neighborhoods at 5.5%.
The survey, commissioned by Redfin and conducted by Qualtrics in February, gathered responses from nearly 3,000 homeowners and renters on the must-haves that convinced them to buy a new home. Findings showed participants were willing to sacrifice features such as number of bedrooms and proximity to work if affordability could be guaranteed.
“The younger generation grew up during a period of tight housing supply, with house prices at an all-time high. Add to that the fact that they earn less relative to older generations, and you can see why they are willing to make greater sacrifices. Find a home they can afford,” said Elijah de la Campa, senior economist at Redfin. “When the income of the average household is less than what is needed to buy or rent an average home, homebuyers cannot afford it. no to make sacrifices.
Despite the trade-offs, safety and crime remained one of the main reasons for moving for 16.4% of survey participants. Generation
When addressing safety issues in high-risk areas, it is critical to consider environments prone to natural or climate hazards such as fires, floods, or poor air quality. In Redfin’s survey, 28% of participants said they would live in these environments if they could afford it.
A separate report released by Redfin on Monday looked at data collected nationwide, including trends related to homebuyers moving in and out of high-risk, disaster-prone environments.
A total of 97,535 people moved into high fire risk areas and 34,170 people moved out. Of those who moved in, 36.1% were to fire-prone Texas, up from 28.7% in 2022.
California’s high fire risk areas showed the opposite trend, with 17,357 people moving out and a net outflow of 6,937 people in 2023, while high fire risk counties saw a slight net inflow in 2022, with an increase of 763 people.
Due to the large influx of new immigrants into Florida, high-flood-risk counties saw 16,144 more people moving in than moving out. However, Miami-Dade County will have a net outflow of 47,597 people in 2023, more than nearly any other county in the country.
Florida and California are in the midst of an ongoing home insurance crisis, with homeowner premiums soaring and some losing coverage entirely.
“Balling insurance costs and increasing natural disasters are forcing thousands of Americans to flee dangerous areas, but they will soon be replaced by others who don’t care about climate change,” said Elijah de la Campa, senior economist at Redfin. replaced by people.
“For many Americans, factors like cost of living and proximity to family take precedence over disaster risk, which can feel less immediate and more abstract. But in places like California and Florida, the cost-benefit calculation appears to be Changes are happening in these places where soaring home insurance costs and an increase in high-profile disasters are having a real impact on residents and making national news,” de la Campa said.
Allstate, California’s sixth-largest insurance company, plans to raise insurance premiums by 34%, affecting more than 350,000 people, exceeding the 30% increase proposed by State Farm last month. The company will stop writing new home insurance policies in the state in 2022.
Email Richelle Hamill
