Renters who aspire to homeownership believe that owning their own residence will bring a variety of benefits, such as being able to customize the property and building equity through regular payments. These buyers may also strive for a more private home where they no longer need to share their walls with other tenants.

This motivation may be a factor in the continuing popularity of single-family homes. According to a recent report by the real estate site Redfin, buyers said they would be more likely to choose a single-family home over a comparable unit in a triplex, even if that housing option came with a shorter commute.

The survey question posed a hypothetical scenario in which the buyer finds a single-family home selling for the same price as a unit in a triplex, or a building with three attached homes. The triplex was described as being smaller than the single-family home but sufficient to meet the respondent's space needs, with a shared back yard and a "significantly shorter" commute time. The question also asked respondents to assume that qualities like school quality and neighborhood safety were identical.

Eighty-nine percent of all respondents said they would prefer to live in a single-family home rather than a triplex with a shorter commute. This included 93 percent of millennials (born between 1980 and 1994), 92 percent of baby boomers (born between 1945 and 1964), and 85 percent of Generation Xers (born between 1965 and 1979). Just 58 percent of Generation Z respondents (born 1995 and later) preferred this arrangement, though Redfin noted that only 26 responses came from this age group.

"Even as we've seen a revival in many urban neighborhoods, the American ideal of a detached home with a white picket fence and a private lawn doesn't seem to be changing—at least for the time being," said Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin. "While some cities and states like Minneapolis and Oregon are aiming to create more affordable multifamily housing options by eliminating single-family zoning, as long as Americans are willing to pay a premium for detached homes, developers are likely to continue building them."

Among those who said they would prefer the triplex, 23 percent said the size of the home impacted their decision; 18 percent of those who favored a single-family home said this was an important factor. Those who favored a triplex unit also considered the commute time to be more important, with 19 percent citing this factor. Just 8 percent of those who preferred a single-family home said the same.

Those who preferred a single-family home were also more likely to say privacy matters influenced their decision. Twenty-three percent said they considered the privacy of the home, 21 percent considered the privacy of the yard, and 14 percent said proximity to their neighbors was an important consideration.

The price of single-family homes carried a 16 percent premium over comparable condominium units in 2019, relatively unchanged from the 15 percent premium in 2013. Redfin found that premiums typically decreased in more expensive markets during this period, but increased in more affordable areas.

"Homebuyers are more willing to settle for a condo or another unit with shared walls if the home itself isn't the defining feature of why they're choosing a city," said Fairweather. "In a sprawling place with an emphasis on private homes like Houston or Las Vegas, people may actually be moving there because there are plenty of affordable, large single-family homes where they can raise a family."

One-third of Redfin users in the third quarter of 2019 limited their searches to single-family homes, excluding listings for condominiums and townhomes. This was down from 41 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

The site also noted how single-family homes have been getting smaller over the years. According to the site's data, the median size of this type of residence ballooned from 1,535 square feet in 1975 to 2,467 square feet in 2015, but fell back to 2,386 square feet in 2018.

The report was based on 1,400 survey responses collected in August from Americans who were thinking about buying or selling a home in the next year. The report also incorporated home price data from 2013 through 2019.