Redfin: 34% of Homeowners Say They’ll Never Sell

(Image courtesy of Redfin; Breakout image courtesy of Lisa Fotios/pexels.com)

Redfin, Seattle, conducted a recent survey, finding that 34% of U.S. homeowners say they’d never sell their home and another 27% say they won’t sell for at least 10 years.

Twenty-four percent intend to sell in five to 10 years, 8% answered “three to five years” and the smallest number–7%–intend to sell their homes within the next three years.

Baby Boomers were the most likely to say they have no intentions to sell–with 43% saying they never will. That compares with 34% of Gen X owners and 28% of millennial/Gen Z owners who answered similarly.

These findings come among continued challenges in the housing landscape–including the “locked-in effect” due to interest rate increases and low supply. Redfin noted another recent analysis found that just 25 out of every 1,000 homes changed hands from January to August 2024. That’s the lowest rate in decades.

Respondents had different reasons they don’t intend to sell, with 39% saying it’s because their home is almost or completely paid off.

Another 37% said they don’t plan to sell because they like their home and have no reason to move, and 30% said they’re staying in their home because home prices are too high currently. Eighteen percent said they don’t want to give up their low mortgage rates.

“The just-because movers–those who just want a bigger or nicer house–are staying put, mostly because it’s so expensive to buy a new house,” said Marije Kruythoff, a Redfin Premier Agent in Los Angeles. “The people who are selling are doing so because they need to. Either they’re relocating to a different part of the country, or they’re moving due to a major life event like having a baby or taking a new job on the opposite side of the city.”