Millennials and Baby Boomers' homebuying preferences are upending experts' forecasts, and master-planned community developers are taking note.
As buyers, both generational groups seemingly want the same things: flexibility, walkability, healthy living and the outdoors. Peter Dennehy, senior vice president of Meyers Research, says these groups offer developers an unique opportunity, "Developers should be paying more attention to quality infill developments built for affordability and lifestyle," and should move away from, "no lifestyle upfront," the Urban Land Institute reports. Creating specific solutions to meet the strong demand from both groups represents a "great opportunity," says Gregg Logan, managing director of real estate advisory group RCLCO.
In Ontario, California, about 35 miles (56 km) outside Los Angeles, 43 percent of buyers in Brookfield Residential’s 124-acre (50 ha) New Haven development have been millennials, says John O’Brien, vice president of housing for Brookfield Residential Southern California. In some ways, the 2,500-unit, development, part of the 8,000-acre (3,200 ha) master-planned Ontario Ranch development, is exactly the type of outlying master-planned project that millennials were expected to avoid. “We’re still a little surprised how much we’ve seen this type of buyer,” O’Brien said. “Until a few years ago, we would have thought half of that.”
Advertisement
Related Stories
Land Planning
Helena Habitat for Humanity Aims to Build 1,000 Affordable Homes
A new Habitat for Humanity project in Helena, Mont., aims to deliver 1,000 affordable housing units and outdoor community amenities
Government + Policy
How Eminent Domain May Be Used to Respond to Climate Crises
Eminent domain, which grants the government power to take private property for public use, has displaced thousands of Americans for the sake of infrastructure in the past, but it may be used for a better purpose in a global climate crisis
Q+A
Soil Connect Is Moving Dirt and Building Relationships
Cliff Fetner created Soil Connect so builders and developers could more easily move dirt and other aggregates from jobsite to jobsite, but it has expanded to become something much more