{"id":85474,"date":"2026-05-11T05:05:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/?p=85474"},"modified":"2026-05-11T08:18:51","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:18:51","slug":"sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Redfin Survey: U.S. Residents Prioritize Sunlight Over Home Size\u2014and It Affects How Happy They Are at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Close to half (44%) of U.S. residents said they would choose a smaller home with more sunlight over a larger one with less, nearly double the share (24%) who said the opposite. This preference for sunlight is especially strong among Baby Boomers (54%) and those who live in the Northeast\u00a0 (57%).<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Approximately 1 in 10 (11%) U.S. residents identified sunlight as \u201cnon-negotiable, one of the most important features \u201d when considering a new home, and another 46% said it\u2019s \u201cvery important.\u201d Just 3% said sunlight is \u201cnot at all important.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b><i>Natural light also impacts how people feel at home: 2 in 3 (67%) U.S. residents said sunlight has an impact on how satisfied they are with their living situation, including 29% who said it impacts them \u201ca lot.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearly half (44%) of U.S. residents would prefer a smaller home with more sunlight over a larger home with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">less <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sunlight. Roughly half as many (24%) would prefer the opposite: A larger, dimmer home over a smaller, brighter home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is according to a Redfin survey of 1,005 U.S. residents conducted by Ipsos in March 2026. Please see the end of this report for more on methodology.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Baby Boomers Care Most About Sunlight Over Square Footage\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All age groups prefer smaller homes with more sunlight to larger homes with less sunlight . The preference is strongest among older Americans: More than half (54%) of baby boomers prefer sunlight over space, by far the biggest share of any generation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People in all parts of the country prefer smaller, brighter homes, too. Nearly three in five (57%) of those living in the Northeast would choose sunlight over home size , making that the region with the strongest preference, followed by the Midwest (48%). Five of the top 10 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.farmersalmanac.com\/top-10-cloudiest-us-states\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cloudiest U.S. states<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014Vermont, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Connecticut\u2014are located in these regions, according to Farmers\u2019 Almanac.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Nearly Half of  U.S. Residents Prefer Sunlight Over Space\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-BlVpO\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/BlVpO\/2\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"434\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The preference for size over sunlight is stronger among young people; 35% of both Gen Zers and millennials would choose a larger home with less sunlight, compared with 21% of Gen Xers and just 8% of baby boomers. Redfin agents attribute this result, in large part, to life stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI&#8217;m hearing more often than ever from my younger clients things like, \u2018We want extra space because we might have kids soon or because my mother-in-law is getting older and may need to move in at some point.\u2019 For this group, that flexibility may be worth compromising a window or two,\u201dsaid Florida-based agent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/real-estate-agents\/tim-harper\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tim Harper<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cYoung buyers today are not just thinking about their immediate family needs when considering the size of a home\u2014they\u2019re also very forward-looking when it comes to a property\u2019s potential for multigenerational living.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Most U.S. Residents Say Sunlight Is Important in Choosing Their Next Home<\/b><b><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a separate survey question, roughly 1 in 10 (11%) U.S. residents said they would consider sunlight \u201cnon-negotiable, one of the most important features in a home\u201d if they were choosing a new home today. Another 77% identified how much sunlight a home gets as either \u201cvery important\u201d or \u201csomewhat important\u201d, but ultimately something they might be willing to compromise on. Just 3% of U.S. residents said sunlight is \u201cnot at all important\u201d in a home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These results were largely uniform across key demographics, though Northeast residents were more likely than people living in other parts of the country to say sunlight is a \u201cnon-negotiable\u201d or \u201cvery important\u201d (66%). An equal share of those who indicated they were likely to make a major purchase, such as a home or a car, in the next 12 months said the same (66%), making these two groups the most invested in sunlight as a home feature overall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"1 in 10 U.S. Residents Say Sunlight Is a Home Must-Have\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-YU3nw\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/YU3nw\/3\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"426\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among those who said natural light was in any way important to their assessment of a potential new home, over half (53%) cited the sun\u2019s ability to improve their mood and mental well- as their main reason for holding this view\u2014the top reason cited among six options we asked about. The next most-cited reasons were reduced energy costs (16%) and liking the look and aesthetics of sunny spaces (14%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI have buyers who walk into a home that checks every box online and walk right out after making it past the entryway because of low light,\u201d said <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/real-estate-agents\/cassia-bourne\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cassia Bourne<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a Redfin principal agent in Denver. \u201cI use those moments to tell my sellers that light sells a home\u2014it makes it feel larger, cleaner, and more inviting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Most U.S. Residents Say Sunlight Impacts How Satisfied They Feel With Their Home<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural light is an important consideration for future homeownership, and it also impacts how people feel in their <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">current <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">homes: Two-thirds (69%) of U.S. residents said the amount of sunlight in their home impacts how satisfied they are with their living situation, including 31% who said it impacts their satisfaction \u201ca lot.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Two-Thirds of U.S. Residents Say Sunlight Impacts Their Living Situation Satisfaction\" aria-label=\"Stacked Bars\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-7XQqL\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/7XQqL\/3\/\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" height=\"515\" data-external=\"1\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">window.addEventListener(\"message\",function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(\"iframe\");for(var t in a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[\"datawrapper-height\"][t]+\"px\";r.style.height=d}}});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additionally, respondents who said they live in sun-filled homes were 30 percentage points more likely to report being \u201cvery\u201d or \u201csomewhat\u201d satisfied with their current living situation (77%) than those who said they don\u2019t live in sun-filled homes (47%).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And while approximately 1 in 5 (22%) U.S. residents said they live in a \u201cvery sunny\u201d home, most U.S. residents (57%) describe their homes as receiving only a \u201cmoderate\u00a0 amount\u201d of sunlight, being only \u201csomewhat sunny\u201d\u2014suggesting there\u2019s still lots more light to be let in around the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Natural light is one of the hardest things to judge from listing photos or even a quick showing, which is why Redfin co-created Sunscore with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/shadowmap.org\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Shadowmap<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a sunlight analysis platform. It\u2019s now available exclusively on <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/redfin.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Redfin.com<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/redfin.com\/news\/press-releases\/sunscore-launches-on-redfin-to-show-homebuyers-how-much-sunlight-a-home-gets\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">learn more here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Methodology<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey results in this report are from a Redfin survey conducted by Ipsos in March 2026, fielded to 1,005 U.S. residents, including 418 who said they are likely to make a major purchase, such as a home or a car, in the next 12 months. The topline results for this survey have a credibility interval of<\/span> <b>3.8 percentage points.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This report is focused mainly on three questions that were asked to all respondents:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0\u201cIf you were to move to a new home, which of the following options would you prefer?\u201d Respondents could select \u201cA larger home with less sunlight coming in,\u201d \u201cA smaller home with more sunlight coming in,\u201d or \u201cNo preference\/ no sure.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you were choosing a home today, how important would the amount of sunlight in your home be relative to other features of the home?\u201d Respondents could select \u201cNon-negotiable, one of the most important features,\u201d \u201cVery important but willing to compromise,\u201d \u201cSomewhat important but willing to compromise,\u201d \u201cNot very important,\u201d or \u201cNot at all important.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHow much, if at all, does the amount of sunlight in your home affect your satisfaction with your living situation? Respondents could select \u201cA lot,\u201d \u201cA little,\u201d \u201cNo impact\u201d or \u201cNot sure.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Close to half (44%) of U.S. residents said they would choose a smaller home with more sunlight over a larger one with less, nearly double the share (24%) who said the opposite. This preference for sunlight is especially strong among Baby Boomers (54%) and those who live in the Northeast\u00a0 (57%). Approximately 1 in 10 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13583,"featured_media":85475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[763],"tags":[802],"dashboard":[],"coauthors":[766],"class_list":["post-85474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-sunscore"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.7 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Redfin Survey: U.S. Residents Prioritize Sunlight Over Home Size\u2014and It Affects How Happy They Are at Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"All age groups prefer smaller homes with more sunlight to larger homes with less sunlight . The preference is strongest among older Americans: More than half (54%) of baby boomers prefer sunlight over space, by far the biggest share of any generation.\u00a0People in all parts of the country prefer smaller, brighter homes, too. Nearly three in five (57%) of those living in the Northeast would choose sunlight over home size , making that the region with the strongest preference, followed by the Midwest (48%). Five of the top 10 cloudiest U.S. states\u2014Vermont, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Connecticut\u2014are located in these regions, according to Farmers\u2019 Almanac.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Redfin Survey: U.S. Residents Prioritize Sunlight Over Home Size\u2014and It Affects How Happy They Are at Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"All age groups prefer smaller homes with more sunlight to larger homes with less sunlight . The preference is strongest among older Americans: More than half (54%) of baby boomers prefer sunlight over space, by far the biggest share of any generation.\u00a0People in all parts of the country prefer smaller, brighter homes, too. Nearly three in five (57%) of those living in the Northeast would choose sunlight over home size , making that the region with the strongest preference, followed by the Midwest (48%). Five of the top 10 cloudiest U.S. states\u2014Vermont, New York, Ohio, Michigan and Connecticut\u2014are located in these regions, according to Farmers\u2019 Almanac.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Redfin Real Estate News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/redfin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T12:05:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-11T15:18:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redfin.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/amel-majanovic-r8r2I7FsaIE-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ellyn Briggs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@redfin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@redfin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ellyn Briggs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ellyn Briggs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/572b247b95429fc8b9e0ce17bee0593c\"},\"headline\":\"Redfin Survey: U.S. Residents Prioritize Sunlight Over Home Size\u2014and It Affects How Happy They Are at Home\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T12:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-11T15:18:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1149,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/amel-majanovic-r8r2I7FsaIE-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Sunscore\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/\",\"name\":\"Redfin Survey: U.S. Residents Prioritize Sunlight Over Home Size\u2014and It Affects How Happy They Are at Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/sunlight-home-satisfaction-2026\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.redfin.com/news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/amel-majanovic-r8r2I7FsaIE-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-11T12:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-11T15:18:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"All age groups prefer smaller homes with more sunlight to larger homes with less sunlight . 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