New house, new friends
It looks like there’s an extra perk to buying a home: you just might make more friends. According to new data, homeowners — especially MIllennial ones — are significantly more likely to make friends with their neighbors than renters are.
Homeowners are getting friendly
According to new data from Rent.com, 30 percent of homeowners make friends with their neighbors, averaging about 2.2 neighbor friends per household.
Renters are less likely to make neighbor friends, and when they do, they have fewer of them.
Baby Boomers were overall more likely to make friends with neighbors, with over 41 percent saying they had neighbor friends. Only 28 percent of Millenials have friends who are neighbors.
Bad at making friends?
Still, that doesn’t mean Millennials don’t make friends — at least not for homeowners.
The study shows that Millennial homeowners are 25 percent more likely than their renter counterparts to get friendly with their neighbors. In fact, Millennials homeowners make 1.4 times as many neighbor friends as those who rent. People with pets or kids are also more likely to make friends in the neighborhood.
“For Millennials, the difference in making neighbor friends was between renting and owning a home: Once they settled down, they had a higher likelihood of making next-door connections,” the report explained. “And likely to the surprise of none, those with kids and dogs tended to make more friends than those without. Science says pet owners are much more active compared to their peers, so they tend to be out and about and, therefore, have a higher chance of meeting neighbors.”
Buying a home for Fido? Here are the best pet-friendly cities to do it in
The price of good neighbors
One thing is clear from the data: even if they’re not into making new friends, Americans think neighbors play a big role in their overall living situation.
According to the report, renters would pay $225 extra per month to be able to hand-pick their neighbors, while homeowners would pay $125 more.
As the report explains, “We decide where to live based on social preferences, proximity to work, familial relationships and other factors. Picking your neighbors could help you live nearer to family or friends, bring the party scene closer to home or make day-to-day life easier with more helping hands next door.”
Homebuying tips: How to choose your neighborhood
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