How to Appeal to Millennial Home Buyers

With the last of the millennial generation (born between 1980 - 2000) now into adulthood, they, along with older millennials who are already in established careers and have families of their own, are increasingly interested in buying homes. They are the largest age group – finally surpassing the baby boomers. As their needs change, millennials are exploring different housing options, and will be the future of home ownership for many years to come as they catch up to other generations who have already dominated the housing market ahead of them.

Source: ListHub. Retrieved from https://listhubnews.com/will-millennials-revolutionize-the-real-estate-market/)

Here’s how you can appeal to millennial home buyers right now:

1.    Emphasize the freedom of home ownership. 

When millennial buyers are house-hunting, a recent NerdWallet survey showed that 93% want the freedom to customize their living space according to their choosing. This includes everything from interior decorating, to remodeling rooms, having a garden, and owning a pet – all things that aren’t necessarily do-able when living in an apartment, condo, or dorm room.

2.    Show them the benefits of buying into the current market. 

In one of his best-selling books, author and millionaire David Bach says in The Automatic Millionaire, that more millennials should take advantage of homeownership, simply because at the end of a 30-year span of paying a mortgage vs. rent “…you can buy a house and spend the same amount paying down a mortgage (as you would for paying rent per month), and in the end wind up owning your own home free and clear.” Because so many millennials think that they can’t afford to buy a home, or that their credit history makes them unqualified to buy, they fall into the trap of thinking that their only option is to rent. By giving them clear data to the contrary, you can show them that the favorable rates in North Carolina make it a good time to buy, and that it is a cost-savings that has short- and long-term return on their investments.

3.    Let them see how affordable it is to make a low down-payment. 

It’s the one hang-up that most often gives them a pause – in that millennial home buyers think they don’t have enough in savings to make a down payment on a house, especially if they have only recently gotten out of debt. Many millennials were given advice from their parents that paying a 20% of the home’s cost as a down-payment is the standard, so unless they can afford to do that, then they think that homeownership is out of grasp. However, with today’s range of options, 62% of successful home buyers in 2017 so far have been able to pay well below that percentage, some even as little as 6% down, instead. By encouraging potential buyers to engage in conversation with lenders to seek pre-approval for a home loan, you can help millennials – and other types of buyers – to take the steps necessary to obtain an affordable monthly mortgage requiring a smaller down-payment at the time of closing.

4.    Know what features they want most in a home. 

When it comes to what millennials most often search for when they look at homes for sale online, they want privacy as well as security, in a neighborhood where they can still get to the places they frequent – such as for work, school, recreation, dating, fitness, and shopping. And as far as rooms go, the master bedroom, kitchen, and a space for entertaining are at the top of their list.

Learn how to market and serve millennial home buyers and home sellers. We've got ready-to-go clients waiting for you to serve them! We will train you to meet the growing and evolving demands of this and future generational target markets with the right coaching, training and technology you will need to have your best year of business yet.

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Join our team. Contact me, Nancy Braun, at 704-997-3794, or email me for a confidential discussion about your goals.