Why It’s Important to Target Millennials

A millennial is classified as someone who is part of the group that follows Generation X. Generation X or “Gen X,” is referred to as the generation of people who were born shortly after the Post-World War II baby boom. Their dates of birth can range from the 1960s all the way to the early 1980s. Millennials are also commonly referred to as Generation Y, and their birth years can range from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.

Millennials have been classified as having a notorious reputation of being materialistic, entitled and spoiled. A survey from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants shows that over ¾ of all millennials want to have the same material objects as their friends, such as cars, technology, clothes, etc. It also shows that this number of millennials use a credit card for their simple, everyday necessities.

Over half of all millennials continue to receive some kind of financial aid from their parents or guardians and ¼ of them have had late payments. Their bad habits can be linked back to the pressures they feel to conform to the things they see through digital media such as social media. As millennials will soon pass the baby boomer generation in total population and their presence in the home-buying crowd is constantly growing and becoming more and more concentrated. However, this large social media influence is a great way for marketers and realtors to easily target the millennials. Social media channels are overly populated with the Generation Y crowd.

Half of All Buyers are Under 36 and Half of Sellers are Under 41.

Young adults are also driving more diversity among homeowners. Only 66 percent of millennial homeowners are white, compared with 77 percent of all homeowners. Among millennial homeowners, 17 percent are Latino or Hispanic, 10 percent are African-American and 7 percent are Asian or Pacific Islander.

Slowly but surely, Generation Y youngsters are creeping up and are becoming the new main home-buying group. Considering this new consumer, realtors need to be on their toes and cater their marketing plans to match the whims of this generation. A few surefire ways to attract this young and digital wave of consumers are simple: Digital, digital and more digital! The use of digital equipment and media such as mobile phones, videos and social media are ways to make sure that younger buyers are seeing your marketing messages.

Launching your marketing products and tactics so that they are easily viewable and found via a smartphone or tablet is essential. Most young buyers have been found to have purchased a home after first viewing it first on their handheld digital devices. Videos are another way to connect with and gain the attention of millennials. While photos are wonderful for highlighting the key features of a home or property, a video is a far more powerful and efficient strategy to connect with potential buyers. Filming a video is a smart way for millennials to be able to envision their future home.

Social networking is one of the most significant places for Generation Y marketing. Many studies have pointed to millennials easily spending over 3 hours of their average days on social networking sites and platforms. While some of this time is spent interacting with friends and posting their own authentic content, a great deal of that time is also browsing content. Use this to your advantage and connect with them in their own playing field.

Some social networking outlets to consider are:

• Facebook
  • 18-34 year olds are more than half of the site’s 500 million users
• Twitter
  • 26-34 year olds are about 30% of it’s 106 millions users
• YouTube
  • the biggest audience are from 18-34 year olds, which is about 67% of the 800 million monthly viewers
• Pinterest
  • 25-34 year olds are the main users with 70% of them being female
• LinkedIn
  • 18-24 year olds are the biggest group covering nearly 70% of the site
• Instagram
  • 18-35 year olds are a large 65% of this visual media platform

Younger buyers in search for a home have been searching via social media much more than older buyers. They have also been likely to use a real estate agent. The older generation has traditionally been the most likely to use open houses as their main point of reference and notice this marketing more than a Facebook ad, per se. Surveys have also shown that the Internet is the most widely used source by millennials during the initial home search process. Most millennials sought out the knowledge and expertise a real estate agent could provide through the internet, but then relied on an actual agent during the process once they found a home. Although the first initial stage was almost always through digital media, never neglect the human face-to-face aspect of real estate!

Another study by the National Association of Home Builders found that 4 out of 10 of the Top 10 features chosen by millennials were homes that were somehow relevant to energy efficiency. Features that coexist with “going green” are strong points to emphasize when marketing to this younger generation that notices details.

Since most of Generation Y doesn’t have their own land line, they would much rather prefer to get their information from online media sources. Although reaching this new audience can be challenging and foreign, it is absolutely be worth your efforts and your time. Their reliance on technology and dealing with tech-savvy customers will be something every realtor will have to face with the coming wave of Generation Y millennials. But don’t worry too much, there’s good to all this as well. Switching over to the tech side will help you adjust to the fast-paced world that we are slowly stepping into and create a wide marketing presence for your real estate listings.

What Millennials Want in Their New Home

Millennials are late bloomers. They’ve delayed marriage and children and buying a house. So when they do buy, they want a bigger home. Sometimes, they skip that starter home and look for a house that they plan to live in forever.

When they’re ready to buy, millennials are very much like the generations that preceded them — most want to buy a house in the suburbs.

“When they’re younger and renting, the central city is where they want to be. But when it’s time to buy the home, they want to go to the suburbs,” said NAHB’s Quint. “They’re interested in park areas and that typically suburban neighborhood.”

Millennials want big homes: 2,375 sq. ft. on average, according to the latest NAHB tracking survey, released in March 2016. By comparison, the average desired home size for all buyers is 2,202 sq. ft. For baby boomers it’s 1,879 sq. ft.

Nearly half (48 percent) of the millennials surveyed said they wanted four bedrooms or more. Only 20 percent of boomers and seniors want that many bedrooms. Millennials also want outdoor spaces — a deck, a patio and a front porch — exterior lighting, a shower and tub in the master bath and hardwood floors on the main floor.