“The White Picket Fence” Prevails: Of course, cities have their unique allure, but when it comes down to determining where to live for the long haul, the majority of individuals from every ethnicity surveyed lean largely toward the suburbs. Research indicates that suburban homes are very much in demand among today’s house hunters. Among those surveyed, 59 percent of African Americans, 55 percent of Caucasians and 50 percent of Hispanic Americans would select the suburbs as the preferred location for their ideal home.
Love Thy Neighbor(hood): When asked to choose between living in their dream home in a neighborhood they are not fond of, or residing in their dream locale in a home they don’t love, each of the three groups was split almost equally down the middle. A slight majority of respondents (56 percent Caucasian; 50 percent African American; 50 percent Hispanic) said they would rather live in the neighborhood of their dreams, even if they are not head over heels for their house.
Home Is Where You Started: Many homeowners want to live close to where they grew up when purchasing their dream house. But, how close is “close?” For a majority of Hispanics (56 percent) and African Americans (53 percent), this means staying within the same state one grew up in. Caucasians (56 percent), however, prefer to remain in the same broad region of the country where they grew up. In fact, 1 in 3 Hispanics prefer that their ideal home is located within the town they grew up in, while only 20 percent of Caucasians share the same sentiment.
We’re Going to Need a Bigger House: While it’s apparent that living near family is important, there appears to be a significant amount of cohabitation among family members. Findings indicate the multi-generational American home is proliferating. In fact, it is likely to occur in all ethnic groups surveyed. Results show that 63 percent of Hispanics and 59 percent of African Americans will likely have their parents, grandparents, or other extended family members living with them at some point. Only 43 percent of Caucasians share these sentiments.
House hunting has also been impacted by the increasing likelihood of multi-generational family units. According to survey results, 89 percent of African Americans, 89 percent of Hispanics and 88 percent of Caucasians who anticipate such living arrangements would look for features that could accommodate additional family members such as separate “in-law” quarters.
About the Survey: The Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research among 1,200 Americans with an equal distribution of 400 nationally represented Caucasian adults, 400 nationally represented Hispanic American adults, and 400 nationally represented African-American adults, ages 18 and older, between December 7 and December 26, 2012, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas were set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the Caucasian, Hispanic American and African-American populations, ages 18 and older.
Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 4.9 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
Stay tuned to RISMedia.com for more breaking stories on the housing market recovery.
