Millennials set new homebuying trends
Daily Record | June 6, 2015
A recent study by the National Association of Realtors found millennials want to live in urban and central city areas. They’re also choosing neighborhoods by factoring in their commuting time to work.
Millennials are now the largest population of homebuyers, out-pacing all other generations, but when
it comes to selling to them, home sellers are having difficulty reaching this evasive and mobile group.
For years, marketers and advertisers have unsuccessfully tried to reach millennials – the generation born between the 1980s and early 2000s. Now, the real estate agency is the next industry that needs to figure out how to reach this huge consumer group.
If you’re trying to sell your home to any millennial, the first thing you need to understand is how they think and feel. Luckily, we have research for that.
A recent study by the National Association of Realtors found they want to live in urban and central city areas. They’re also choosing neighborhoods by factoring in their commuting time to work.
This means if you’re trying to sell a home to millennials – and you are fortunate enough to live close to a train station or the City – you might want to play that up with your marketing material.
Likewise, that same study found that millennials are different from other generations in how they view their future home. Millennials don’t see themselves living in their future homes for as long as their parents lived in their homes. Instead, millennials believe they will live in their new home for no more than 10-years, according to that study. Yes – school districts are important decision factors for any home purchase, but you may want to leave out details on the high school if you’re potential millennial-era home buying couple doesn’t even have kids yet.
And on a personal level, I can also tell you that I am seeing millennials sizing-down from homes where they grew up. Millennials aren’t looking for the mega-mansions that their parents bought 20 years ago. Today’s 34-and-younger group is choosing practicality over luxury. They want a home that fits their needs – not a home that fits the needs of a small-sized army.
So just as the baby boomer generation ignited a housing boom in America and changed the face of suburbia, I suspect this next generation of homebuyers will once again alter the way homes are sold and bought.
About Smitha Ramchandani:
Ramchandani ranks in the top 0.5 percent of all Realtors in New Jersey. Her company, SR Real Estate Group, has won numerous national awards for the performance in real estate in North Jersey. You can read more on www.SRRealEstateGroup.com
National award-winners and seasoned Realtors with over many years of experience in Northern & Central New Jersey, Rahul & Smitha and their team have become New Jersey’s “Go To” agents and consistent leaders with a reputation for tenaciously protecting their clients’ interests. They specialize in Morris, Somerset, Essex, Union and Passaic counties.
