But most home buyers, sellers are against allowing greater density in their neighborhood
One solution to the housing supply issues that continue to reduce growth in home sales is to allow more density, but this isn’t the most popular option with homeowners.
A survey of over 3,000 people who either bought or sold their primary residence in the past 12 months, shows that of 53% support zoning policies that limit housing density near where they live, while just 27% support policies that enable it.
The Redfin survey also found that African American homebuyers and sellers are equally as likely to support dense housing in their area as they are to oppose it (39% each).
But white homebuyers and sellers' responses fall in line with the overall results, with 56% opposing and 23% in favor of dense housing nearby.
"People who don't want dense housing in their neighborhood often reason that they don't want to see the character of their neighborhood change," said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. "Minorities, however, may be less likely to have sentimental feelings about the types of housing that characterize their neighborhoods because zoning policies have often contributed to racial inequality through segregation. However, the minorities who do oppose dense zoning may be opposed to the gentrification that accompanies dense luxury condos and apartments."
Influence of income, age
The views appear not be influenced by income as the survey results indicated that homebuyers and sellers in every income bracket were far more likely to oppose density than to support it.
Age does make a difference though with those aged 65 and up—were more than four times as likely to be against density in their neighborhood (64%) than they were to support it (15%).
Under 25s were the only age group that had more people in favor of supporting density (41%) than opposing it (36%).
