The options are endless when purchasing or renting a home. Homebuyers and renters alike have their pick of locations, floorplans and price ranges, but one thing is totally out of their control: Who they live next to. As it turns out, some would be willing to shell out some real cash to handpick the people they live around.
In a study from Rent.com, surveyed people living in multifamily homes admitted they were willing to pay an average of $179 per month on top of existing expenses just to choose who lived next door. While those living in single-family homes wouldn’t give up as much, they were still willing to spend $157.
The survey broke the price responses down by generation as well and found that Millennials are much more willing – if not desperate – to pay the price to pick neighbors. The younger generation was willing to pay $203 per month, while Generation X would sacrifice $145 and Baby Boomers would give up no more than $45, according to the survey.
To rank the desirability of neighbors, the study cited activities such as helping to jump-start a car, picking up something you need at the grocery store, and picking up mail while you’re away. It’s worth noting that the Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination for reasons including race, religion, national origin, familial status, disability, and gender.
According Rent.com’s finding, neighborly relations get better with age, or at least with time spent in a single area. Residents who had lived in the same home for an average of 8.3 years reported satisfaction with their neighbors. The neutral zone – neither satisfied nor dissatisfied – hit at 6.9 years.
As for those unhappy with their surround residents, the average respondent has been living in their home for 6.5 years. Of the renters surveyed, the ones who paid $700 or less per month reported the least dissatisfaction with their neighbors.
“But it’s not just about money,” the study stated. “People in rural areas reported higher satisfaction with their neighbors than those in urban settings. The Stanford Social Innovation Review says that’s because they see the overall benefit of making local connections and working together for the good of their communities.”
Indeed, the survey found that almost 75% of people living in a rural area were satisfied with their neighbors, versus the 67.2% and 64.3% living in suburban and urban areas, respectively.
