Americans' opinions about their neighbors are influenced by a number of factors, including homeownership, according to the results of Trulia Inc.'s Trulia Neighbor Survey, conducted Sept. 25-27 among over 3,000 adults 18 or older.
The survey finds that, overall, two-thirds of Americans (67%) say they like their neighbors, even though only 53% actually know their neighbors' names. Residents living in suburban areas are more inclined to like their neighbors and are more likely to know their names than people who live in more urban areas; homeowners, too, are much more likely than renters to like their neighbors (74% vs. 58%) and know their names (61% vs. 39%), according to the results.
Trulia also reports that even though most Americans like their neighbors, even more are picky about them, with 75% preferring that their neighbors have particular characteristics. The results find that the most important neighbor attribute was homeownership: While 35% of respondents say it is important that their neighbors are homeowners, this percentage increases among Americans who are homeowners themselves, at 51%.   Â
The survey also shows that one-fifth of Americans say they judge their neighbors on the appearance or condition of their home and property – with suburbanites a bit more likely to judge their neighbors than urban dwellers.
Trulia says curiosity strikes more than a quarter of residents: When a neighbor's home goes up for sale, 27% of adults say they check out the home on an online real estate site, and 11% actually attend the open house.
‘Because of the housing crash and foreclosure crisis, millions of formerly owner-occupied single-family homes became rentals,’ says Jed Kolko, Trulia's chief economist. ‘That's bad news for the 51 percent of homeowners who say it's important to them to have home-owning neighbors, but it beats living next door to a foreclosed, vacant house.’