People searching for a new home were most concerned with finding a residence in a safe neighborhood and buying a property they can afford, according to a recent survey by the real estate company Redfin.

Half of the survey respondents included safety among the most important qualities they considered when choosing a neighborhood. Forty-eight percent said affordability was important, although this share dropped to 30 percent among respondents with a household income of $125,000 or more.

Thirty-five percent were looking for a neighborhood with their own outdoor space, while 31 percent wanted one with good schools. Twenty-six percent were seeking neighborhoods with a lot of space, and 24 percent sought areas with a good sense of community.

Respondents were willing to put some extra miles on their vehicle to find a neighborhood with the right qualities. While 21 percent considered it important that their neighborhood be within a short commuting distance of work, only 11 percent said it was important for a neighborhood to be within a walkable distance of local shops, restaurants, and other amenities. Just 8 percent of respondents said access to public transportation was important.

Finding a home

First-time homebuyers in the survey were asked to choose a reason why they decided to purchase a residence instead of renting. The largest share, 58 percent, said they wanted a sense of stability or permanence. Forty-four percent considered real estate a safe place to invest their money and increase their wealth.

Thirty-five percent of the first-time homebuyers polled in the survey said they considered owning a home to be part of the "American Dream." Twenty-four percent said it was necessary to make a purchase in order to live in the home they wanted.

A significant number of buyers said they had purchased their home without ever seeing it in person. Twenty-one percent said they had bought a home sight unseen.

The share was higher among other groups, with more than half of high-end homebuyers purchasing a home without visiting it. Fifty-three percent of those who purchased a home for $750,000 or more did not see the home in person.

Thirty percent of single buyers, and the same share of Millennial buyers between the ages of 18 and 34, bought a home without visiting it. Only 14 percent of respondents who purchased a home through a real estate agent did so without seeing the home in person.

Agent opinions

Most buyers and sellers said they had used a real estate agent when making the transaction. Eighty-three percent of buyers and 77 percent of sellers said an agent had helped them find or list a home. Ten percent of sellers said they used an agent to help list their home before completing the rest of the sale on their own.

A majority of respondents had positive opinions about their agent. Among buyers, 58 percent agreed that their agent was an advocate for purchasing the home that was right for them. However, only one-third of respondents said their agent allowed them to make their own decisions, and 8 percent said the agent was more focused on completing the sale than finding the right home for the buyer.

Fifty-nine percent said they were completely glad with the home they had purchased, while 31 percent said they were mostly glad. Seven percent said they had some regrets, 2 percent said they had many regrets, and 1 percent said they were not yet sure how satisfied they were with their home.

Satisfaction was slightly higher among sellers, with 62 percent agreeing that their listing agent fought as hard as possible to negotiate a good deal for them. Twenty-nine percent said they thought their agent could have worked harder or used more creative strategies, and 6 percent did not think the agent had negotiated a good deal.

Sixty percent of sellers thought the agent had priced their home correctly, while 21 percent believed the property had been priced too low. Nineteen percent thought their agent had overpriced their home.

Sixty-four percent of respondents said they would be open to an alternative to traditional real estate services. Twenty-one percent said they prefer the way traditional real estate agents work, and 16 percent had no opinion.

Nearly three out of four respondents were in favor of modifying the commission process. Seventy-three percent said they like the idea of saving money on real estate commissions and believe the process can be more efficient this way. Fourteen percent worried that altering the commission would have a negative effect on the quality of an agent's services, and 13 percent had no opinion.

Thirty-seven percent said their agent rewarded them with a service or item worth more than $500, such as a commission refund or rebate, a contribution toward closing costs, a discounted commission for selling their previous home, or a closing gift. Fifty-five percent said their agent had not offered such an incentive, and 7 percent were unsure.

Going it alone

Among the buyers who decided to purchase a home without a real estate agent, most said they did so because they knew the seller personally. Thirty-seven percent said they opted not to use an agent for this reason.

One-third of buyers who purchased a home on their own said they thought it would save them money, 27 percent said they thought they could make the purchase on their own, and 14 percent bought a new home from a builder. Nine percent said they couldn't find an agent they liked, 7 percent couldn't find an agent who specialized in the neighborhood or type of home they wanted, and 7 percent said they did not trust real estate agents.

Sellers were most likely to manage their own transaction for financial reasons. Sixty-one percent of the respondents who sold their home without a real estate agent said they did so to save money, while only 11 percent said they personally knew the buyer.

Twenty-nine percent said they did not think it was necessary to use a real estate agent to sell their home. Ten percent said they could not find an agent they liked, 9 percent said they did not trust real estate agents, and 6 percent said they were unable to find an agent who would help them due to the price or location of their home.

Redfin commissioned SurveyMonkey Audience to complete the survey. A total of 2,134 Americans who had purchased or sold a home in the past two years were asked about their experience.