You’ve heard of buyer’s remorse—now there is a more specialized form of angst for homebuyers: “neighborhood regret.” According to a study from Trulia, 36 percent of recently relocated Americans say they would have moved to a different neighborhood if they could do it again. Homebuyers in metro areas feel particularly regretful, with nearly half (46 percent) saying they would have chosen somewhere else.
3 Major Factors in Neighborhood Regret
While most homeowners (77 percent) say they do not believe there is a truly reliable way to get “complete neighborhood information” about a community before actually living there, another culprit may be lack of specificity within the study. Nearly half of homeowners who regret their choice of neighborhood blame “the vibe” of the development.
The other two major factors in neighborhood regret are far more specific and may be determined in advance. Thirty-seven percent of regretful homeowners said they regret picking their home because of the commute time to their job. The same percentage also cited crime rates as a reason for their dissatisfaction. Other significant sources of complaint in the survey were:
- Lack of social activity
- Street noise
- Frequent traffic
- Lack of public transportation
Most buyers admitted they did little or no research on the area in which they now live before buying their homes. In fact, only about a third searched for photos of other parts of the neighborhood, and nearly three-quarters completely neglected research on local crime statistics and police reports. About half never visited the property at night before moving in after closing.
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