Understanding the Millennial Home Buyer

Understanding the Millennial Home Buyer

As a real estate agent, it is important to understand the individuals you’ll be working with. Different generations have different needs. The Millennial generation (those currently between the ages of 18 and 34), haven’t been quick to jump on home buying opportunities. In today’s market, they make up a very specific subset. Here’s what you need to understand.

Generation Y: The Millennial

Generation Y, or the Millennials, is made up of individuals born between 1980 and 1995. According to realtor.org, this group currently makes up 31% of the buying market and 12% of the selling market. Closer looks at the characteristics of the group show that only 6% initially buy a multi-generational home, which means a great portion of those buyers are repeat home buyers who are looking to upsize. All are motivated to own a home.

Challenges to Consider

Here is where things begin to get interesting. According to Bankrate.com, your Generation Y (and Generation X) buyers tend to fall into two distinct categories. You’ll find yourself working with a motivated young professional with a busy schedule – someone who wants a home that doesn’t really need any work. On the other hand, you may find yourself working with someone who is super creative and who wants to spend a lot of time creating a personalized home. Knowing exactly who you are working with will help you to determine which homes are better for showing, and whether or not you have any room to sway a person to something in the middle or in the other direction altogether.

Some researchers believe Millennials are completely changing the home buying process. The reality is that it is a big group and, as such, will have a lot of life demands and challenges that we haven’t seen before. The average member of Gen Y has an incredible amount of student loan debt. Young unmarried couples are more willing to purchase homes together than older after-marriage traditionalists. They like to move a lot and aren’t afraid of flipping.

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