I came across this article in Realtor Mag earlier this year and it really shocked me. In 2016, millennials are going to make up a third of the entire housing market.
I don’t know about you, but I thought millennials were all still in school, taking selfies, and scrolling through Facebook all day. But, as it turns out they’re our biggest future client demographic.
Now, I want to be prepared for them, so I went ahead and did a bit of research on what they want. Today, I’d love to share that with you.
Home Features Millennials Want
Laundry Room
As it turns out, the single most important feature in the home millennials want is... a laundry room. (I’m surprised too.) In fact, 55% of them won’t buy a home without one.
Energy Efficiency
Millennials grew up together with the rise of environmental awareness. So homes with energy-saving features (like appliances and lighting, etc.) are going to appeal to them. The jury’s still out on whether or not they’ll be willing to pay extra for it, but if you want to impress a millennial, energy efficiency is the way to go.
Open Concept
More and more now, people are skipping the formal dining room, and eating in the kitchen or in the living room in front of the TV. Millennials especially. It makes sense then that they prefer open concept homes, where there’s a clear flow between the kitchen and living space.
Modern Design
Following the open concept idea, millennials like modern design. Makes sense -- minimalism has seen a huge rise in their lifetimes. While they still seem to like crown moldings, they prefer sleek cabinets and no stucco ceilings (but then again, no one likes stucco).
Suburban Neighborhood
While most renting millennials prefer the city, millennial home buyers are looking for homes in the suburbs. 47% specifically do not want to live in a high-density neighborhood.
How Millennials Choose their Agents
40% of millennials choose their agent based on their reputation.
And where do agents build their reputation? Word-of-mouth, referrals -- but the real kicker is your online reputation. And especially when millennials are always on social media, you want to make sure you’re active there too.
Next comes honesty/trustworthiness and neighborhood knowledge.
Top tip: share local real estate news to your social networks. That’s two birds with one stone.
(Need help in the social media department? You can outsource that to CityBlast’s Social Experts who’ll source interesting content and post for you. Let other people do that work, while we sell houses, right?)
In the meantime, this is a great article that talks about marketing to millennials and boosting that online presence they so look for.
And that’s it! Or at least that’s it from me. Now, I’d love to know, what are some of your insights/tips on working with millennials?
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