Should You Let Your Flag Fly? Banner Study Shows Unintended Consequences of Porch Pennants

Americans — especially North Texans—love decorating their front yards with signs and flags. While it’s a widespread practice to hang a banner out there, new data from Redfin shows that the flags you fly out front could affect the desirability of your home.

In a study of 1,256 U.S. homebuyers, Redfin found that nearly a third (29.5 percent) of respondents said they would be more likely to make an offer on a home in a neighborhood with rainbow Pride flags, whereas 22.3 percent said they would be more likely to pass. Interestingly enough, about half (48.2 percent) could not care less about rainbow flags in their would-be neighborhood.

“In today’s divided nation, living amongst like-minded people could be considered a neighborhood amenity, just like highly rated schools and walkability,” said Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather. “Remote work has allowed scores of people to move to new areas and deprioritize proximity to the office. Oftentimes, that means homebuyers self-sort into areas where their neighbors think and vote like them.”

Segmented by political preferences, self-identified Democrats said they would prefer to live in an LGBTQ+-friendly neighborhood, with 41.4 percent of Democrat homebuyers surveyed saying they would prefer neighborhoods with Pride rainbows everywhere. Interestingly enough, only 34.6 percent of Republican buyers said that rainbow flags would put them off.

When you look at how things land generationally, 37.9 percent of Gen Z buyers, 30.9 percent of Millennials, 19.7 percent of Gen Xers, and 17.7 percent of Baby Boomers are A-OK with rainbow flags and Pride paraphernalia.

What flags put the most people off? Confederate flags. Almost half of U.S. homebuyers surveyed by Redfin said that a Confederate flag in a potential neighborhood would make them rethink a neighborhood. Pro-life flags were the second-most divisive front yard decoration at 31.1 percent eschewing a potential offer, with anti-gun flags following at 27.5 percent.

American flags were (obviously) popular with 44.8 percent finding them desirable in neighborhoods. According to Redfin’s research, it was followed by Black Lives Matter flags (35.7 percent) and pro-choice flags (34.8 percent).