Survey Says: U.S. Homebuyers, Especially Gen Z, Want Walkable Neighborhoods

American homebuyers have a strong preference for homes in walkable neighborhoods, according to the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) recently published “2023 Community and Transportation Preferences Survey.”

“Seventy-nine percent of respondents rate walkability as “very” or “somewhat” important, and 78% say they’d pay more for a home in a walkable community, the survey shows,” according to an article by Realtor Magazine that shares details about the survey’s findings. “Young adults prioritize walkability the most, with 90% of Gen Z and millennial respondents indicating they’d pay more for a home in a walkable community; a third say they’d ‘pay a lot more.’”

The survey also debunks a common narrative that the pandemic revealed a preference for the automobile dependent neighborhoods of sprawl. “Walkability became more of a focus during the COVID-19 pandemic, but demand has only grown since,” according to the article. Still, despite those reported preferences, domestic migration trends show population declining in many of the country’s more urban areas, with more people arriving on the outskirts of metropolitan areas.

More details about the survey and its findings are available at the NAR website.