1 in 6 Americans has moved to escape a bad neighbor

Srdjan Randjelovic // Shutterstock

1 in 6 Americans has moved to escape a bad neighbor

A new survey by Garon Fence has finally answered the question of what a good neighbor is worth. And the results are in: Nearly 2 in 5 Americans would pay an extra $5,000 to guarantee good neighbors.

Another 2 in 5 say that bad neighbors are a major deal-breaker. Why are they considered bad neighbors? It’s not because of political ideologies, as one might expect. In fact, ideological differences ranked last among neighbor tensions at just under 4%, behind noise, pets, and an unmowed lawn.

Americans Are Avoiding Their Neighbors

Almost half of Americans have avoided their neighbors, with 3 in 10 having stayed inside until the neighbor went back in. One in 5 have pretended not to see them, while nearly 1 in 10 turn off the lights or TV to fake an empty house.

Garon Fence

Younger adults hide most of all, with only 40% of Gen Z saying they’ve never hidden versus about 65% of Baby Boomers. This is not uncommon: A Pew Research study found that just over a quarter of Americans know all or most of their neighbors, suggesting that this behavior is not passive.

Garon Fence

Neighbors Fight About More Than Politics

The report shows that politics is rather low on the totem pole of neighbor tensions, as it turns out. The top reasons neighbors fight are ranked in order:

• A neglected-looking property: 11.1%
• Noise: 11.0%
• Boundary encroachment on shared space: 8.7%
• Pets: 7.9%
• Parking: 5.5%
• Politics: 3.6%

While political arguments do happen (according to a 2024 Redfin-commissioned survey), it seems homeowners can brush aside differing opinions. A neglected yard, on the other hand, leads toward resentment.

Neighbors Are Shaping Yards and Housing Offers

Garon Fence

A whopping 4 in 5 Americans factor in neighbor quality when purchasing a home. And while nearly 2 in 5 would pay an extra $5,000, nearly 1 in 5 would pay $10,000, with 5.7% paying $20,000 or more.

On the flip side, 41% of Americans would walk away from a purchase if bad neighbors were involved. This is reinforced by the Appraisal Institute, who warned people back in 2013 that bad neighbors can cut home values by 5 to 10%.

Garon Fence

For those who can’t (or don’t want to) move, fences have become the number one deterrent for nearly half. And of those who did install a fence, about 44% say it worked. So if you can’t move, a fence is the next best option.

The survey started with a price tag, but the number that lingers is smaller: 3.6%. Politics, the thing Americans supposedly can’t stop fighting about, barely registers over the property line. What people will actually pay for is quieter than that.

This story was produced by Garon Fence and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.