After delaying homeownership, Millennials are finally buying homes. As a generation larger than the Boomers, it is imperative to understand what these young potential homebuyers value in a property, and unsurprisingly, it is different than their parents. Instead of a short commute, Millennials want community. They’re prioritizing Fido over a Fiat. And in terms of the actual house, forget a fixer-upper. Millennials want an HGTV-ready house as instantly as their digital delivery services.
They’re here. For years, real estate agents and builders eagerly anticipated the entrance of millennials into the housing market.
Millennials, a generation now larger than the baby boomers, were battered by the financial crisis as they started their careers and delayed some of the milestones that accompany homeownership, such as marrying and starting a family. But in 2018, millennials represented the largest cohort of home buyers at 37 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors’ 2019 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report.
While it’s difficult to generalize about what the Pew Research Center estimates are more than 73 million Americans, real estate agents and observers see some trends among millennials.
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