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Won't You Be My (Tidy) Neighbor? New Ally Home Research Reveals How to be a Model - not a Nightmare - Neighbor
Neighbors matter: more than three-quarters of Americans say neighbors factor into their decision when choosing a new home

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Dec. 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As a movie exploring the life of the beloved TV figure Mister Rogers hits theatres, Ally Home (Ally), the direct-to-consumer mortgage arm of Ally Bank, today shared results from a new survey asking Americans their favorite and least favorite qualities in a neighbor. According to the survey, more than three-quarters of respondents say neighbors factor into their decision when choosing a home – and more than half of Americans report having had what they'd classify as a "nightmare neighbor" in the past. 

New Ally Home Research Reveals How to be a Model – not a Nightmare – Neighbor

"With this survey, we sought to discover whether the idyllic neighborhood emulated by Mister Rogers was a reality in today's world, and how much the notion of a 'good neighbor' matters to Americans," said Glenn Brunker, Mortgage Executive with Ally Home.

As it turns out, neighbors matter quite a bit in housing choices. In fact, past neighbor experiences stay on people's minds, as 67% of respondents to the survey say prior unhappy neighbor experiences make them realize the importance of good neighbors. Surprisingly, younger generations say they have had more of these bad experiences (63% of Millennials vs. 38% of Baby Boomers).

"Our goal at Ally Home is to educate people about everything they need to consider going into the homebuying journey and be there along the way to offer trusted guidance, just like a good neighbor would," said Brunker.

Other survey findings include:

What Makes for a Good Neighbor? As Mr. Rogers Would Say, "Look for the Helpers!"

  • 71% value neighbors who take care of their home
  • 66% value neighbors who are always willing to help out
  • 49% value neighbors who take good care of their neighborhood
  • 47% value those who are friendly with other neighbors

Least Favorite Qualities in a Neighbor? Shhhh, Keep it Down!

  • 46% dislike loud neighbors
  • 44% dislike neighbors who partake in questionable lifestyles (e.g., running an illegal business out of their home, drug dealing)
  • 34% dislike neighbors who don't keep up their house
  • 32% dislike nosy neighbors

Generational and Demographic Differences. Are We Losing Our Neighborliness?

  • Parents also report having more nightmarish neighbor experiences (63%) than those without kids (44%)
  • 55% of Americans avoid difficult neighbors; those with kids avoid difficult neighbors even more than those without kids (67% vs. 49%)

Gimme my Space!

  • 54% of Americans prefer to live in neighborhoods where neighbors are far apart, while just one quarter prefer close proximity to neighbors

Survey Method:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Ally from October 7 – 11, 2019 among 2,012 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact Justin Nicolette at Ally.

About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (NYSE: ALLY) is a leading digital financial-services company with $181.5 billion in assets as of September 30, 2019. As a customer-centric company with passionate customer service and innovative financial solutions, we are relentlessly focused on "Doing It Right" and being a trusted financial-services provider to our consumer, commercial, and corporate customers. We are one of the largest full-service automotive-finance operations in the country and offer a wide range of financial services and insurance products to automotive dealerships and consumers. Our award-winning online bank (Ally Bank, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender) offers mortgage-lending services and a variety of deposit and other banking products, including savings, money-market, and checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), and individual retirement accounts (IRAs). Additionally, we offer securities-brokerage and investment-advisory services through Ally Invest. Our robust corporate finance business offers capital for equity sponsors and middle-market companies.

For more information and disclosures about Ally, visit https://www.ally.com/#disclosures 

For further news regarding Ally, please visit the Ally press room at http://media.ally.com 

Media Contact
Justin Nicolette
Ally Financial
Justin.Nicolette@Ally.com

SOURCE Ally Financial