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Gen X Adult Market

Everyday over at The Harper Team, we are interacting with more and more young people looking for their first home. I happened upon a post from The New York Times has a post Young Buyers, Prepared and Fearless and it got me thinking again about Gen X.

This is a great read to help us understand the mind set of Gen X buyers entering into the housing market. These young buyers are not afraid of carrying more debt (they’ve never been through hard times) and they come prepared with a great deal of online research to support their purchase offer.

Joel Burslem over at The Future of Real Estate Marketing Meet the new real estate customer

One of our AR posts on Gen X

A search on Active Rain using the term Gen X produces some great posts Gen X won't stay a niche market, before you know it, this will be the market.

Title change from XXX Adult Market to Gen X Adult Market in response to comments received - see mom, I can take suggestions! I'll work on playing well with others soon.

Posted by HarperMees & Associates on 02/06/2007 11:14 PM

Comments (40)

gen x, xxx

40 Comments on Gen X Adult Market

FEB

2007

Hey guys, I did a huge GenX consumer post on AR that may also shed some light on my generation of consumers. I will send it to you. I am more worried about GenY... :o)

A great book on this topic is called "Rocking The Ages" by J. Walter Smith and Ann Clurman. The book is about Generational Marketing.

Oh, great. A post title that's going to draw people surfing for porn.

It's funny how most Gen X posts I read always originate from a baby boomer who's read some book or article on the subject, ... often written by another baby boomer.

I have worked with Gen-X in the last year, and I can tell you that none of them were fearless about loans. In fact quite the opposite. I think that a lot of young people are still very conservative and conscientious about their mortgage. Where this generalized notion of fearlessness comes from is unknown to me.

Mario

FEB

2007

1st thank goodness you weren't posting about the 'other' xxx :)

2nd - One thing I find myself doing much more with clients - text messaging! That certainly didn't used to happen a few years ago :)

"Never been though hard times"

What sort of bullshit is that? Pretty much every GenXer I know believes the overwhelming majority of us will be working until the day we die trying to pay off the soon to be bankrupt social security system, and shameful national debt.

Good job baby boomers overbuilding 55+ condos like confetti in Times Square on New Years eve. You don't seriously think they will retain value once you guys start kicking the bucket do you?

I wonder who will have to clean up the mess you guys make?

...oh yeah... Gen X will.

Ok.. trying not to rant like a crazy man here.

I cooled off enough after the "never been through hard times" quote to actually read through your links. The bad news is those "young buyers" mentioned are too young to be in the Gen X demographic cohort. Most view Gen X as born between 1963 and 1978 - i.e. about age 28 to 43.

Gen X is by defintion jaded, and pretty much had the pollyanna beaten out of us when our parents got divorced back in the 80's. If there is pie in the sky, we think the baby boomers will eat it all before we get there and leave the crumpled up pie tin for us to clean up.

Wikipedia notes;

"Generation X is generally marked by its lack of optimism for the future, nihilism, cynicism and lack of beliefs and trust in traditional values."

And more pertinent to my beef with your comment....

"The employment of Gen X is volatile. The Gen Xers grew in a rapidly deindustrializing Western World, experienced the economic depression of the early 1990s and 2000s, saw the traditional permanent job contracts disappearing and becoming unsecure short-term contracts, experienced offshoring and outsourcing and often experienced years of unemployment or atypical jobs, such as McJobs in their youth. It left many of them overeducated and underemployed. This has left a deep sense of insecurity in Gen Xers, whose usual attitude to work is Take the money and run. They no longer take any employment for granted, as their Baby Boomer parents did, nor do they consider unemployment a stigmatizing catastrophe."

You can read the whole wikipedia post at http://tinyurl.com/2lvcqc

Your "One of our Gen X clients" link is about a 24 year old. A 24 year old is not a Gen-Xer; he's Gen-Y.

I'm with Joe. I hate the title of this posting. It's a tiresome marketing hook.

And the 28-43 generation can change the world if they decide to, cynicism or not.

Everyone needs someone to blame for something, and generations since the dawn of time have blamed their forebears for the world they receive. Accomplished people, and generations, do like the Eagles song and "Get Over It."

It's nice to know trends and to keep ourselves open to change, but we shouldn't let classifications overcome the fact that each of our clients is an individual. The SRES course teaches that the "retired" segment is so diverse - we should keep that in mind about all the other generations as well.

Harper Team, I believe that Sharon is right on...it's very difficult to put people in little boxes with bows. Everyone is different and needs to be treated as such. As far as Generation X is concerned one of the things I've noticed is that they seem to be able to take in a lot of stimulus as evidenced by any Sports Bar that you enter. Obviously, not all have the capability of this but with everything that has been thrown at them with videos, Internet, text messaging etc. they seem to have a canny knack at filtering it all much more so than other previous generations.

Exactly Sharon. Break out the 'Gen X' by race and you will see a wide swing of different socio-economic values and positions.

Great comments. I guess I'm too far removed from the concept of porn searching as it never occurred to me about the title. I figured it for an attention getter, even though it is overused and worn out. Note the change.

Yes, thanks for correcting me on Gen Y. Looking at generations, personality types, and other classifications of people has it's uses. In rereading the post, I don't see anywhere that I said anything about not treating people as individuals.

I too, think about the mess being left to my children and grandchildren. And for cynicism, I do believe there is hope for all. I find the longer I'm around, the less of a grip cynicism has on my psyche.

Harper Team,

Thanks for changing the title of your post. It describes the content of your post better, and avoids the risk that you'll draw the wrong kind of traffic.

But, the change also makes my comment seem off-the-wall.

On our own sites we have a policy of never making a change in a way that makes a comment seem stupid or meaningless. We would have changed the title, as you did, and added an addendum to the post noting that a change was made in response to a commenter's suggestion. Our basis for this policy is simple: a blog is a conversation, and we don't get to erase part of the conversation completely.

Joe - I like it - keep it coming

Gen X.... Let me see are they the ones who wnat facts, timely services and more information than you can cramp into a 200gig hard drive.... Oh... but isn't that basically all customers.... Just give them great service, quality infomration in a timely fashion and don't worry about the generation thing... Selling, Marketing is the same...jsut don't ramble...

Harper Team-

Thanks for sharing the post. It's a great read !

OK, I could not keep myself from adding my link.... Here is the post that I wrote about generation X- from the horses mouth = ME, a GenX consumer AND real estate agent.

Secret Life of a Generation X Consumer ... My Story

Thanks for the information. Great service is the key even if they are first time buyers.

I'm an X'er and the vast majority of my clients are X'ers. I second Sharon's remarks; there is no X'er type or classification. Yet, our local Realtor board has a class on marketing to the Gen X & Y crowd, as if we're of one single mentality and experiences.

I also take issue with your statement that X'ers haven't been through tough times. From my own experience, I've been laid off twice due to downsizing and offshore outsourcing. Not many in my parent's generation has been through a single layoff. These types of posts are becoming tiring.

The Gen X Consumer has been around a few years now as the first wave of Gen X is moving into their late 30s and early 40s. I've been working with Xers for a while now and consider Gen Y to be the next wave of first time homebuyers. However, I think it's fair to say that all of these terms generalize to some extent.

I'm not sure how many other adults grew up in the shoulder period, neither fully Boomers nor Xers (as defined by the but I always think it's interesting that no one really addresses us since we're too young for one group and perhaps too old for the next wave.

Technically, I am on the very tail end of the Boomers so while I witnessed historical events of that period, I was pretty little when most of it was going on. Aged 12 when the Vietnam War ended and 11 when Watergate blew up, I found the 60s to 70s a really dark time, particularly when I realized we had always been at war during my lifetime from birth up to the pullout in 1974. That's why the "Big Chill" style ads about "not growing old gracefully" squarely aimed at the older Boomers pass right over me, because they are about the Other Boomers, not me. I also got onto PCs much earlier than the Other Boomers because they first popped up when I was in graduate school. Back then, Macs were for Liberal Arts Majors and PCs were for the techies. As a result, I have a high pc literacy rate for a Boomer-I've been using them for 22 years or half of my life. While my parents didn't divorce at any point, I was still a latch key kid with 2 parents out earning a living.

Because of the prevalence of the accepted categories, people of my generation slip through the cracks. We were the generation after the post-war affluence when there was Watergate, removal of the gold standard, American cars began their descent in favor of foreign cars when the gas crisis happened, John Lennon was shot, and punk and new wave made their ascent. We are a generation so far off the radar that we missed out on getting a label, but we're here. Not being a demographic expert, I can't pinpoint the years exactly but I'd say the people born after 1955-1968 are us.

Curious to see whether others weigh in---and does anyone have a name for us?

Lots of Gen-x angst out there, but your definition of hardship tends to be different from the previous generations which tends to be different from the depression generation.

I guess I have as much problem understanding the fatalism of "we have to deal with the mess you're generation is leaving us" as my mom, who lived through the depression and World War 2 has when someone in my generation gets down-sized and thinks it's the end of their personal world.

The reality is we all need to lear from the guys called The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw that none of this stuff is the end of the world unless we let it beat us and end our world for us.

Harper Team, not sure if that's in line with where you were going, but it's my side trip along the highway. ANd yes, you are absolutely right. In my experience with Gen-X customers they are less fearful of obligating more of their income and saving less. And, they are often better informed borrowers/buyers.

Being a Gen Xer I can say that we to tend to carry more debt, either through the high availability of credit cards and/or students and car payments. Debit has become a way of life but and I think our fearlessness and openness leads us to do more research and make decisions. All my friends own homes or looking to buy their first and start their finacial progress.

I'm liking this education I am getting. One point to mention is that the comment about "hard times" is from the article in the NYT and not mine. I should have made it clearer. One thing I learned the hard way is "total is total" - it doesn't matter what gets you there.

Some really great insight from dare I say it - Gen X

GEN-X IS AGAIN MISINTERPRETED

And the 28-43 generation can change the world if they decide to, cynicism or not.

The Jaded nature of US GenXers is that we ARE over it. We grew up OVER it. The GenYers AKA GenWHYers are the ones who have created the boom in therapy etc.

GenXers are highly intelligent and creative people. We are highly informed. We grew up watching the NEWS and going through some volatile times in the Real Estate Market. We grew up with suspicion which makes us hyper-informed.

One car salesman recognized me as GenX and said to me once, "I can tell you've done your research online and that probably means you know more about the car than I do... so let's get you some keys to see if you like it and then I'll help you get the deal you want on it."

We GenXers grew up hating Realtors and Used Car Salesmen. It is a hard fit for us... nay TUMULTUOUS fit for us to be Realtors now! So convention has to be swept away from us. Don't condescend and make assumptions. Know that we're educated and armed.

We HATE Hard Sells!!! SO DON'T! Soft sell and show us we're important to you because if we're not then we will be with someone else!

Just remember, we grew up expecting good service so the new GenY Service personnel irritate us. We're intense! When we started entering the job market we had to contend with a glut of experience blocking us...i.e. the Boomers that had not retired yet!! ... now we're here and it just means that the better you treat us the more business you'll get

And to Mike... we are changing the world. We're truly reluctant leaders but we're powerful and when we do lead we'll lead the right way.

GenY is a nesting generation. The biggest challenge is getting them OUT OF THEIR PARENTS' HOUSE!! My sister in law is stuck w/her mom! All her friends live with their parents! It was embarassing to me that I lived there as long as I did while a student and getting started in the world. But my goal was always to get out and I did. Now I'm married w/a kid, two dogs and a mortgage - the American Dream! GenY needs to be shown comfort and technology... GenX needs to be shown value and will accept siding over brick if it gets us granite and stainless. GenX wants family space - formal dining/living rooms are not important. GenY wants built in surround sound and pools.. GenY likes Condos (very general but it works) even if $/sf is higher to get the luxe treatment... GenX wants houses but value and will live on the outskirts to get more house.

GenX is a 30yr Fixed w/10yrs Int only - Just in case we don't move

GenY is a 3yr IO ARM because they're going to bounce around

John...

Will you now please tell us more about GenY?

They scare me :)

I'll stand by my Gen X will have to clean up the mess statement.

The National Debt continues grow at an insane rate. I mean really... it's just as critical to manage your public debt as well as your private debt.

The Social Security System is going to be completely bankrupt just as we arrive to it. After paying into it all our working lives, it will cease to be, or pay out so poorly so as to be worthless.

Reverse mortgages are becoming increasingly popular, and many of us are starting to expect to inhereit our parents mortgage ridden properties as a parting gift. I know of people in my parents generation that openly talk about riding cruise ships until "all the money is gone" as a retirement plan - in front of their own children.

We are still stubbornly addictted to oil, resulting in warfare, and harm to the atomsphere.

Did I mention that we grew up in the 80's being told Global Thermonuclear War had a 10% chance each year of being started accidentally? You guys had Woodstock. We had a class trip to see "The Day After". Steve Guttenberg was in that movie and we were forced to watch it - there's no call for that. My apologies if all that adds up to Gen-X "angst".

X'ers are cyncial, but also deeply pragmatic. All this nonsense will have to be cleaned up and we will do it.

If you really want to delve into demographics and generational mapping, I suggest "Generations" by Strauss and Neil as a great starting point. Their primary thesis is that we have four generational types that we cycle through about every eighty years. The last "Gen X" generation was called "The Lost Generation" and were born 1883-1900. Which made them the parents of Brokaw's "Greatest Generation". Everything comes full circle.

I'll stop now :-)

"You guys had Woodstock" ? No, we had 58,000 Dead soldiers. Many our age.

You missed the part where Baby Boomers in grade school - once a week, practiced for nuclear attack by hiding under their desks.

I think you missed the race riots of....'67, 68, 69....

Gasoline every other day? RATIONING? oh, that was in the 70's.

Rob - set you off did it? Yes, many friends lost right out of high school. Thanks for the reminder of all those times under the desk. I had forgottn.

The thing about demographics, trends, profiles, and etc. is that they can help with many things - but defining the uniqueness of an individual is best left to the heart.

I'm appreciating the input.

I was ok up until the glib remarks about "we had Woodstock"..... gimmie a break.

I do not think generations can be seperated to the point where 'one' had a ball and the other must cry and whine as we see in here.

Iraq is expensive.... probably a place we should not be. But it's a volunteer military.

Vietnam was expensive....probably a place we should not have gone. Many, many were 'FORCED' to go.

Yeah.....lucky us Baby Boomers.

Shoot me.

Peeking aka Rob...

I'm not smiling very wide right now. :(

TLW...ROAR!

You know... Every generation has it's negatives. Every generation has its positives. Every generation has a million reasons to blame the older generation for the state of the world. Every generation has a million reasons to think that the younger generation is a bunch of slackers.

It is what it is.

There is a lot of TRUTH in every praise and complaint. I am on the tail end of Generation X, and I can completely see where Athol is coming from, as it is how I grew up too. However, the Boomers had almost identical things to say about their parents as well. Sure, Boomers can be mad at X'ers about it, and then X'ers will turn around and be mad at their kids (internet generation..) about basically the same crap. People always "group" themselves with those who they identify with (generations). It has always happened and will always happen.

"Poor Me" "No! Poor ME!" "No! POOR ME!" It gets REALLY OLD. Everyone needs to get over it already.

All that said, MY concern is Generation Y. Their parents are both Boomers AND X'ers. (Example: My oldest son is Gen Y and my little brother and my husbands little sisiter are also GenY) They are being raised totally different (Boomers' kids are raised w/ more money and X'ers' kids are raised with more freedom), but they sit in the same classrooms together. Who do THEY get to be all mad at? This is one of the first times that generations have melded so much. Maybe they will teach us how to get over the... get ready for this novel phrase... Here we go ...

GENERATION GAP!

I am glad I am an X'er. I would not trade my generation for all the listings in California... But I also know that, regardless of how whiny Boomers can be (sorry, I had to say it...) if it weren't for them, our generation would not have many of the freedoms that we enjoy and the strength of character that makes us so pragmatic and pig headed, er, stubborn. Ok, Im done. Im going to bed.

I have no idea who a gen x or gen y is. I don't pay much attention to generation. I think everyone is a little more conservative now because too many were too fearless the last couple of years....

FEB

2007

My apologies to anyone I offended by glib remarks about Woodstock et al. I'm not sure there is any point trying to up the ante over how bad you have it or had it. War is a terrible thing no matter how you slice it.

The orginial post stuck an old nerve and I pretty much overreacted to it. I thought all this Gen X stuff was buried better. :-/

sorry

FEB

2007

Athol - I appreciated it all and your post on the Carnival

This is a great article. We're fortunate to be around the same age as the Generation Xers, so we can connect with them and ease their fears about their first huge purchase. Thanks for this post.

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