Marketing Your Home to Millennials
Kevin Shirley, Associate Broker (DC), e-PRO, GRI, ASP
The generation born between the early 80s and just after the turn of the century (aka Millennials) has been slower to take the first steps toward homeownership than previous generations. That’s likely one of the byproducts of the cultural and economic shifts that have combined to make real estate less affordable (and proportionately less appealing). While there is no denying that lately, it’s been a challenging environment for many Millennials to jump into the real estate market in there are still plenty of young people who would like to buy a home.
But what makes real estate attractive to these younger prospects can be a lot different than what has traditionally drawn previous generations of buyers. And with fewer motivated candidates in this younger generation, if you will be selling your own property anytime soon, you should have your antennae up for how to include them in with your other potential buyers.
It’s no secret that Millennials devote a disproportionate amount of their time in the online world. In 2013, the number of hours Millennials spent on the Internet increased by 25% to nearly 25 hours per week. In short, homes with poor wireless and mobile connections will be a difficult sell to millennial buyers. If your current connection is slow, research other providers that will be available for a new buyer. The fact that such options are available can be enough to remove what could potentially block a sale.
Millennial buyers (well, most buyers, actually) don’t like cluttered homes — especially those littered with outdated furniture: it’s just too much of a leap to picture how they could make their own lifestyle fit into such a space. According to the real estate website HomeGain, sellers who invest just $500 in home staging can be expected to reap an average 343% on that investment.
Millennials work from home in more significant numbers than ever before — so presenting at least one of your rooms as a home office can create an appealing environment. Even if a room is currently being used for other purposes, having a wireless device working in a corner will usually be enough of a cue to point out its home office potential. If no dedicated room is available, staging a corner in the kitchen as a mobile docking/work station can also do the trick.
Millennials aren’t just refraining from purchasing homes — they’re also avoiding car purchases in the same numbers. The percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds with driver’s licenses has been dropping since 1997 (it’s now under 70% for the first time since the early ’60s). Walkability describes how easy or difficult it is to walk to work, public transportation, stores, parks, and other facilities. If this factor is a real estate plus for your home, create a bullet point list of approximate times or distances to local features closest to your property. Five or six should be enough (even if some are just a pond or small market!).
There is a convincing amount of evidence indicating that Millennials are simply delaying real estate purchases — rather than planning to skip homeownership altogether. As the economy slowly improves, we expect more significant numbers of younger buyers to enter the real estate market. If you will be listing your property soon, it’s essential to keep all potential client pools in mind.
