Marketing Real Estate to the 25-35 year olds... The Millennials.

Real estate marketers need to be creative and open minded while trying to reach today's Millennials.

Most Millennials have a lot in common – high rental prices and student loans. Raised on the Housing Crisis and tempered in the Great Recession, they haven't been able to collect much wealth – maybe they haven't even given much thought to home ownership.

But Millennials are the largest working group of adults in the country, and it's not like they don't want homes. They just don't have as much discretionary income as past "younger generations" – yet.

Marketers have chosen to chase a Millennial who wears a stocking cap while perched behind a tablet in a sublime cat-friendly coffee bar. But the percentage of the 83 million Millennials in the U.S. who actually fit that ridiculous stereotype is debatable - at best.

While Millennials do possess a certain degree of technical savvy, these are hard-working, serious types who value substance over style, and are extremely protective of their personal time. They don't want a lot of BS or "sales pitching"

While skipping Internet marketing altogether would be a terrible mistake, trying to sell a home to a Millennial by appealing to their youthfulness probably won't work.

Using "their" language – say, like sending out a social media message written entirely in emojis - comes off as inauthentic pandering. It's likely to end up in the virtual trash can.

So what's the best approach to market to these potential homeowners as they mature?

Appeal to their grown-up smarts. Cleverness might help bring them in, but talking to them like adults will keep them interested. They are going to be making a lot more money in the near future and they are our buyers of tomorrow.