Millennials Are Changing First Time Home Buying

The face of majority home buyers in 2019 is millennial.  Their home buying approach is different than previous generations.

Tech and connectivity influences Millennial homebuying decisions.  According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, or NAR,  millennial home buyers are looking for smart home devices, starting with locks, lights, thermostats and more.  The home search has also gone digital: 44 percent of homebuyers looked for properties online, most using a mobile device, before buying. 

Communication with realtors has gone digital.  Realtors primarily use email, followed by text and phone to reach out to millennials looking to buy a home.  The faster the communication, the sooner the purchase can be nailed down.

Homebuyers are buying later, living without children at home and with a median income of $88,500. That means starter homes may not be viewed as starter, but as a more permanent home, with a higher price tag.  Today’s majority home buyer wants something in the suburbs.  Not city,  not rural.  All of this means the traditional starter home may fade into the past.

Amazingly, millennials are more likely to continue to rent their primary residence in or near cities and buy a vacation home as their first home.  More realtors are changing how they present properties to potential home buyers, even first time home buyers, today.    

Millennials are changing the housing market, and more evolutions are on the way as the next generation of home buyers begins their homebuying quest. Meanwhile, the home buying process is becoming more streamlined, as the buyers are weeding out non-contenders online, before driving all over the suburbs.  It will be interesting to see how real estate continues to evolve.