{"id":6119,"date":"2018-10-31T13:37:47","date_gmt":"2018-10-31T20:37:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=6119"},"modified":"2024-03-18T07:28:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T14:28:20","slug":"millennial-home-buying-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/millennial-home-buying-trends\/","title":{"rendered":"Millennial Home Buying Trends: Ignore Them at Your Home\u2019s Own Marketing Peril"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first rule of any type of marketing is know your audience<\/a>. Take Vespa\u2019s reemergence in the year 2000. Company managers figured their iconic Italian motor scooters would resonate with 20-somethings the most.<\/p>\n

Hardly! Vespa quickly learned it was nostalgic Baby Boomers<\/a> who would be their best customers, and swiftly adjusted their advertising plan from there.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re selling a home, not a scooter, but the logic is the same. As you and your agent put together the marketing strategy for your house, you need to start with an understanding of who\u2019s out there buying houses right now.<\/a><\/p>\n

Data from the National Association of Research tells us that currently, millennials make up a whopping <\/b>36% of the home buyer pool<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

That means there\u2019s more than a one and three chance that the person who buys your home has a birthday sometime between 1981 and 1996<\/a>\u2014which puts them between the ages of 22 to 37.<\/p>\n

Our conversations with top agents and research of the latest millennial home buying trends reveal there\u2019s a lot you can do to appeal to the generation shaped by Nintendo 64, texting, Facebook\u2019s early days, steep debt, and 2008\u2019s broken economy.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Andrew Neel\/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Millennials grew up with technology, so it comes naturally to them<\/h2>\n

While there\u2019s plenty to learn about the characteristics<\/a> of the millennial generation, there are two that matter when you want to target market your home to millennials. The millennial generation\u2019s relationship to money and technology plays a big role in who they are as home buyers.<\/p>\n

Millennials grew up in the digital age, specifically during the dawn of gaming, and later the internet and social media, which gave them a thirst for instant information at their fingertips and virtual communication.<\/p>\n

They view the internet as an authority <\/a>(even over their teachers and parents), and are early adopters of digital technology. Smart phones, tablets, smart watches, laptops\u2014millennials have them all and they use them with a savviness that\u2019ll make your head spin. They\u2019re also sure to have profiles on a multitude of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.<\/p>\n

Just ask top agent Mary Jo Santistevan<\/a>, who\u2019s sold over 81% more properties in Phoenix than the average agent and ranks as the #1 Agent\/Team for all of Berkshire Hathaway Home Service agents in Arizona, \u201cMillennials are very savvy home buyers because they\u2019re so connected with technology and plugged in with their online research.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Source: (pewresearch.org<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Millennials don\u2019t like to overextend themselves financially<\/h2>\n

As little as five years ago, millennials were referred to as the lazy, narcissistic, entitled Me Generation<\/a>\u2014a label that may suggest millennials are also reckless and irresponsible with their money.<\/p>\n

In reality, millennials are frugal<\/a>, thanks in part to coming of age during the Great Recession<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve noticed that millennials don\u2019t max themselves out,\u201d says Santistevan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was their age, if I knew I qualified for a home for $300,000, I was going to get one for $300,000. Millennials don\u2019t do that. They\u2019re really aware and budget-minded.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Through their conservative spending and investing habits, millennials have earned a reputation for being cautious with their finances<\/a>. These famous savers<\/a> are also known to be actively planning for retirement.<\/p>\n

While millennials have a reputation for saving the money they do have, they\u2019re not so interested in making the big bucks when it comes to their careers.<\/p>\n

According to the Brookings Institute, \u201c64% of millennials<\/a> would rather make $40,000\/year at a job they love than $100,000\/year at a job they think is boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s no shocker that millennials aren\u2019t big fans of carrying debt\u2014although many do, thanks to sky high student loans<\/a> and credit cards. Luckily, many have developed a strategy to get rid of their debt<\/a> with smart financial strategies and budget living.<\/p>\n

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Source: (blog.bankofthewest.com<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To minimize the impact of a mortgage on their monthly finances, some are saving up a sizable down payment<\/a>, which may mean delaying home buying for several years.<\/p>\n

Do millennials value homeownership? All signs point to \u2018Yes\u2019<\/h2>\n

Knowing that millennials are overburdened with sizable student loans<\/a> (that have given them an aversion to debt), it seems remarkable that so many are willing to take on a substantial home mortgage, too.<\/p>\n

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Source: (nar.realtor<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, millennials view buying a home as an investment in their future. And more than that, many millennials see homeownership as the fulfillment of the American dream.<\/p>\n

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Source: (blog.bankofthewest.com<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, the millennial dream home is hardly a mansion. Millennials’ frugality with money has led them to become minimalists<\/a> in their lifestyle. Since they\u2019re surviving and thriving with less stuff, most are looking for less house.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Plam Petrov\/ Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What types of homes are millennials on the hunt for?<\/h2>\n

What were starter homes<\/a> for older generations are dream homes for some millennials\u2014and those looking for even less square footage are snapping up tiny homes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Not all millennials are going small, though. Older millennials are skipping the smaller, starter homes and buying larger ones\u2014especially if they\u2019re already married with kids. In fact, almost 33% of older millennials<\/a> bought spacious, four-bedroom homes.<\/p>\n

Despite the variety in millennials\u2019 home size preferences, one thing almost all of them want is a house that\u2019s move-in ready<\/a>. As a whole, millennials are more interested in socializing with friends and traveling the world than remodeling fixer-uppers.<\/p>\n

A home\u2019s surrounding neighborhood, and its proximity to good schools and jobs, ranks high with millennials, too.<\/p>\n

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Source: (blog.bankofthewest.com<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"An<\/a>
Source: (blog.bankofthewest.com<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Now that you understand millennials and what they\u2019re looking for in a home, here\u2019s what you can do to spark their interest in your listing.<\/p>\n

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Source: (Enrico Carcasci\/ Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How to effectively market your home to the millennial generation<\/h2>\n

All of this data and information on the millennial generation\u2019s lifestyle, preferences, and economic outlook is essential to planning a sales strategy aimed at attracting this target market<\/a>.<\/p>\n

1. Go digital to reach millennial homebuyers where they are<\/h3>\n

An online listing description is now considered table stakes for any home, but it\u2019s worth mentioning here as a major highlight for the millennial generation.<\/p>\n

Take advantage of the fact that 99% of millennial home buyers<\/a> search online for houses by making sure your home is highly visible on the top real estate websites.<\/p>\n

Once a property hits the MLS, it should get syndicated to sites including Zillow, Realtor, Trulia and Redfin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Similar to Google, real estate websites act as a search engine that help buyers quickly find the home of their dreams. Millennials will be doing all sorts of targeted searches for home on the web, so make sure that your listing is optimized for search using sought-after keywords<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Source: (nar.realtor<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Try to sell millennials on your home with web marketing alone<\/h3>\n

High quality, professional photos are a must to sell your home to millennials who are accustomed to shopping online<\/a> with photos of everything <\/i>shown from multiple angles.<\/p>\n

Little extras like drone photos<\/a> of your whole lot and virtual home tour<\/a> videos definitely appeal to these tech-lovers.<\/p>\n

3. Keep your staging and decor simple<\/h3>\n

When you\u2019re staging your home for those photos, remember that millennials are minimalists, so less is more<\/a> in your decor. Go above and beyond when you declutter<\/a>, then add a few millennial-minded decorative accents<\/a>, like creating a tabletop vignette with a sleek, modern vase, an empty vintage picture frame, and some industrial-style candle holders.<\/p>\n

4. Put millennials\u2019 top features in writing<\/h3>\n

Once you\u2019ve captured their attention with your visuals, cement this generation\u2019s interest in your home by highlighting its most millennial-friendly features<\/a> in the description:<\/p>\n