Nearly 25% of Gen Z House Hunters Willing to Sacrifice Safety to Afford a Home: Redfin Survey

[Dave Hess]

Nearly 25% of Gen Z House Hunters Willing to Sacrifice Safety to Afford a Home: Redfin Survey

https://www.redfin.com/news/homebuying-tradeoffs-safety-survey-2024/


Very understandable Gen Z are willing to buy in a sketchy neighborhood to be able to afford a home.

 

[JoelB]

Pretty sad statistic really.

 

[supton]

My first thought: what is "safe"? I could be stereotypical and say, "someplace where someone might say something mean to me!" but really, a "safe" place can mean a different thing to different people.

I'd be more worried about the fact that nearly the same would trade off a good school.

On the flip side, could this be good? People complain about when people leave an area and it goes bad. What if enough young people move in and bring in voting clout? Could this bring positive change to challenged areas? If that happens, then a gamble on a "bad" area could pay off, when the area turns around.

 

[TCL]

My first thought: what is "safe"? I could be stereotypical and say, "someplace where someone might say something mean to me!" but really, a "safe" place can mean a different thing to different people.

I'd be more worried about the fact that nearly the same would trade off a good school.

On the flip side, could this be good? People complain about when people leave an area and it goes bad. What if enough young people move in and bring in voting clout? Could this bring positive change to challenged areas? If that happens, then a gamble on a "bad" area could pay off, when the area turns around.

"Could this bring positive change to challenged areas? If that happens, then a gamble on a "bad" area could pay off, when the area turns around". True

 

[skyactiv]

Bad neighborhoods often have trap houses and the mom & pop carry outs in the hood often sell glass pens and chore.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Well, then perhaps they will bring up the neighborhood and do well over time. There is a town here you may have heard of, Palo Alto. Steve Jobs lived there. Steve Young lives there. A friend bought a horrible fixer upper there after her divorce for cheap. Well, she made an outstanding investment. Palo Alto is the highest price per square foot in Silicon Valley.

The east side used to be big trouble, scary as Hell.
Wanna live there today? God a few mil laying around?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Nearly 25% of Gen Z House Hunters Willing to Sacrifice Safety to Afford a Home: Redfin Survey

https://www.redfin.com/news/homebuying-tradeoffs-safety-survey-2024/


Very understandable Gen Z are willing to buy in a sketchy neighborhood to be able to afford a home.

It's called gentrification. Good for them to get in on the ground floor because once an area becomes popular prices start rising fairly quickly.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I was going to say ... it's the definition of Gentrification.

 

[PandaBear]

Safety and school quality is not set in stone. When things are expensive and the law abiding citizens with stable incomes are entering the former higher crime rate neighborhoods and price the criminals out, that neighborhood would change.

Gen Z is just getting tired of paying a premium for what boomers were demanding.

 

[PandaBear]

Well, then perhaps they will bring up the neighborhood and do well over time. There is a town here you may have heard of, Palo Alto. Steve Jobs lived there. Steve Young lives there. A friend bought a horrible fixer upper there after her divorce for cheap. Well, she made an outstanding investment. Palo Alto is the highest price per square foot in Silicon Valley.

The east side used to be big trouble, scary as Hell.
Wanna live there today? God a few mil laying around?

Mountain View used to be a slum before they rebuild the downtown and Google moved in. Same for East Palo Alto back in the days before the tech boom, and Menlo Park before Facebook moved in.

 

[thastinger]

Well, then perhaps they will bring up the neighborhood and do well over time. There is a town here you may have heard of, Palo Alto. Steve Jobs lived there. Steve Young lives there. A friend bought a horrible fixer upper there after her divorce for cheap. Well, she made an outstanding investment. Palo Alto is the highest price per square foot in Silicon Valley.

The east side used to be big trouble, scary as Hell.
Wanna live there today? God a few mil laying around?

Homeless live there for free

 

[MolaKule]

Hi folks.

Let's stick to the economic and associated factors relating to the article.

 

[LDB]

Nevermind

 

[CKN]

If enough of them buy in a given "sketchy" neighborhood it will not be sketchy for long. This has already been proven out across the country.
As stated-"gentrification".
Some cities even offer incentives to move in to such areas.

 

[mk378]

My first thought: what is "safe"?

The "safety" of the neighborhood has always been a trade-off that people consider when buying a house. I don't see this being anything new.

 

[Ausfahrt]

My first thought: what is "safe"? I could be stereotypical and say, "someplace where someone might say something mean to me!" but really, a "safe" place can mean a different thing to different people.

I'd be more worried about the fact that nearly the same would trade off a good school.

On the flip side, could this be good? People complain about when people leave an area and it goes bad. What if enough young people move in and bring in voting clout? Could this bring positive change to challenged areas? If that happens, then a gamble on a "bad" area could pay off, when the area turns around.

Not sure about your word salad but it's not a good sign that young people are accepting homes that they don't want.

 

[Delta]

If enough of them buy in a given "sketchy" neighborhood it will not be sketchy for long. This has already been proven out across the country.
As stated-"gentrification".
Some cities even offer incentives to move in to such areas.

Yea there's quite a many up and coming neighborhoods that are turning around that the town will even help out around here. Homes are going for decent rates. Actually been debating this myself; I want to get out of my current area.

 

[Dave Hess]

Yea there's quite a many up and coming neighborhoods that are turning around that the town will even help out around here. Homes are going for decent rates. Actually been debating this myself; I want to get out of my current area.

Why move out of your current area ?
You want to be closer to work or family ?

I remember when you bought your house and posted a thread about it.

 

[Dave Hess]

If enough of them buy in a given "sketchy" neighborhood it will not be sketchy for long. This has already been proven out across the country.
As stated-"gentrification".
Some cities even offer incentives to move in to such areas.

I was in the Fort Lauderdale area about a year ago and lots of redevelopment near downtown that were run down 10 years ago.

Maybe it’s the folks moving down south that’s speeding up redevelopment of area. Lots of expensive condos in areas that were known for drugs and crime. Same for downtown Palm Beach.

 

[supton]

The "safety" of the neighborhood has always been a trade-off that people consider when buying a house. I don't see this being anything new.

I don't see it new either. I only questioned what safe meant. My neck of the woods, hearing gunfire is normal and "safe". Others might see otherwise.

Not sure about your word salad but it's not a good sign that young people are accepting homes that they don't want.

Too bad? I didn't like my first home. Wasn't my idea of what I wanted. But it was what I could afford and it met a need.