Generation Y, also known as Millennials and Echo Boomers, are coming of age. And they are wanting to buy homes in Minneapolis and all over the nation. Not a big deal? Think it’s a drop in the bucket? Think again. This generation, born between 1982 and 1995, is just about equivalent in size to the baby boomer generation. At 75 million strong, most of them are children of baby boomers, although some of the younger ones have Generation X parents.
Generation Y is the first generation to have truly grown up with major technology. Many of them sat at home computers as babies, they have had microwaves their entire lives, most don’t remember buying music on records or even cassette tapes. They communicate with their friends and family via cell phone and computer.
And they use this knowledge to go shopping as well. The mall may be a place to hang out with friends, but serious shopping tends to occur online. This holds true for trendy clothes, electronics, and, yes, even houses.
While very few of them will purchase a house entirely online, but you can rest assured they have found it there, Googled the address, cruised around the neighborhood on Google Street View Maps, and researched everything they can think of about the neighborhood, schools, and nearby opportunities. All of this before driving by, before contacting a Realtor, and before even considering putting in an offer.
What is Generation Y looking for in housing? Most of them want environmentally friendly homes…homes that can keep up with their technology.
An ideal home for a typical Generation Y’er is smaller than that of their parents. It is closer to the city center, night life and employment. It has been built or renovated with natural and environmentally friendly materials. Appliances are not only stylish and state of the art, but they are Energy Star rated and use a fraction of the energy that earlier models did.
If it’s an older home, it must have upgraded wiring with enough outlets and high enough capacity to manage multiple HDTVs, computers, and all of their attachments. Ideally, the home will be wireless ready for computers. Televisions and entertainment attachments will be hardwired into the walls, with a central control location, reducing the need for cluttered DVD players, game systems, tangled wires, and piles of media disks in every room.
The increasing ability of employees and entrepreneurs to work from home makes a home office a necessity rather than a want in the modern home. People need a home office in a quiet location, convenient to other parts of the house but a separate space of its own. It must have adequate outlets, storage, and a second phone line for business phones or fax service. Natural lighting, at least one large window and a decent view are pluses.
If your house meets some or all of these requirements, then leave it to me to get your property marketed in a way that Generation Y will find it, including online listings, Twitter, Facebook and whatever other new media outlets come along in the future. Call me today to get started!
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Looking for a home in Edina, Minnesota? Contact me, Kim Melin, today.
Check out my website for help in buying a home in the Minneapolis area.
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