CORRECTING and REPLACING More Than Half of U.S. Homebuyers and Sellers Want to Live Somewhere With Legal Abortion, Up From 40% a Year Ago

This recent Redfin survey also found that more than 60% of homebuyers and sellers want to live somewhere with strong gun control laws and one-third prefer to live in a place that allows classroom discussion of LGBTQ topics

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Headline of release should read: More Than Half of U.S. Homebuyers and Sellers Want to Live Somewhere With Legal Abortion, Up From 40% a Year Ago (instead of Two-Thirds of U.S. Homebuyers and Sellers Want to Live Somewhere With Legal Abortion, Up From 40% a Year Ago).

The updated release reads:

MORE THAN HALF OF U.S. HOMEBUYERS AND SELLERS WANT TO LIVE SOMEWHERE WITH LEGAL ABORTION, UP FROM 40% A YEAR AGO

This recent Redfin survey also found that more than 60% of homebuyers and sellers want to live somewhere with strong gun control laws and one-third prefer to live in a place that allows classroom discussion of LGBTQ topics

(NASDAQ: RDFN) — Nineteen percent of homebuyers and sellers would only live in a place where abortion is fully legal, up significantly from 12% last year, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. The increase comes this year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and gave states the power to ban abortions.

An additional 33% would prefer to live in a place where abortion is fully legal, up from 28% last year.

On the flip side, 11% would definitely not live in a place where abortion is legal, down from 15% a year earlier. An additional 12% would prefer not to live in such a place, down from 17% a year earlier.

“A lot of homebuyers are moving to Arizona because they like the politics here and/or don’t like the politics where they’re coming from,” said Heather Mahmood-Corley, a Redfin agent in Phoenix, a perennial favorite migration destination for homebuyers. While the state voted for Joe Biden in 2020’s presidential election, it is generally more conservative than California and Washington, where a large portion of incoming homebuyers hail from.

Sixteen percent of respondents to the August 2022 survey said state or local abortion laws are an important factor in deciding where to live, and 1% said they’re the most important factor. The most commonly cited factors in deciding where to live are cost of living (59% said it’s among the important factors; respondents could select more than one factor), crime/safety (53%) and home affordability (51%).

Most homebuyers and sellers prefer a place with strong gun control laws

More than one in five (22%) homebuyers and sellers would only live in a place with strong gun control laws, and an additional 39% would prefer to live in such a place. Overall, that’s nearly triple the 10% who would not live in a place with strong gun-control laws and 12% who would prefer not to.

Respondents were more likely to cite gun-safety laws as an important factor in where they live than abortion laws. About one in five (21%) said state or local gun-safety laws are an important factor in choosing where to live, while 3% said they’re the most important factor.

About half of respondents prefer to live somewhere with gender-affirming care for children; one-third want to live in a place where LGBTQ classroom discussions are allowed

More than half (58%) of respondents prefer to live in a place with laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. That’s compared with 18% who prefer not to live in a place with such laws.

Nearly half (47%) prefer to live in a place where gender-affirming care for children is fully legal. That’s more than double the 21% who prefer not to live in such a place. Gender-affirming care encompasses a range of medical interventions designed to support an individual’s gender identity, including counseling and medications.

Relatedly, about one-third (34%) prefer to live somewhere that allows classroom discussion of LGBTQ topics. Just a slightly larger share (37%) take the opposite stance, preferring to live in a place that prohibits classroom discussion of LGBTQ topics.

“My husband and I moved from Tallahassee, FL to Seattle in 2017 partly because Florida’s state government was on a path to undermining protections for LGBTQ people, and we didn’t feel comfortable there outside our close circle of friends,” said Dustin Hand, a Senior Systems Administrator at Redfin. “Living in a state where the laws don’t protect you is alienating and stressful. When I went places in Florida, I typically waited for a person or business to explicitly say ‘it’s safe here’ before opening up about who I am and whom I love. Florida’s recent legislation takes an active stance against teaching people about my community and affirms my decision to live in a place where I feel protected being my authentic self.”

Fifteen percent of respondents said LGBTQ rights are an important factor in choosing where to live, a similar share that feel abortion laws are important. Three percent said LGBTQ rights are the most important factor.

Most homebuyers and sellers prefer living somewhere with strong voting-rights laws–but about 1 in 10 prefer not to

Nearly two-thirds (62%) of homebuyers and sellers would prefer living somewhere with strong voting-rights protections and/or easy vote-by-mail. Fifteen percent prefer not to live in such a place.

Fourteen percent of respondents said voting rights are important in choosing where to live, while 1% said they’re the most important factor.

All of these findings were from a national Redfin-commissioned survey of about 1,000 U.S. residents who recently bought a home or plan to buy or sell a home in the next year, fielded in August 2022. It’s compared with a Redfin survey fielded in August 2021; the 1,000 respondents to that survey moved in the 18 months prior to taking the survey. The results reported above are from a question asking homebuyers and sellers to rank their willingness to live in a place with certain state or local laws on certain political issues.

To view the full report, including charts and additional findings, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/survey-homebuyer-political-preferences-abortion-gun-control/

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, instant home-buying (iBuying), rentals, lending, title insurance, and renovations services. We sell homes for more money and charge half the fee. We also run the country's #1 real-estate brokerage site. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Customers selling a home can take an instant cash offer from Redfin or have our renovations crew fix up their home to sell for top dollar. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1 billion in commissions. We serve more than 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 6,000 people.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, email [e-mail]. To view Redfin's press center, click here.