The pool of home buyers across the country has shifted over the last few years. Younger Millennials (age 22-29) made up 13 percent and older Millennials (age 30-39) made up 25 percent of the share of home buyers. Why is this important? As expected, a large portion of these Millennial's transactions were first time purchases. The features desired in a home are reflecting this shift in home buyer demographics. A large portion of these buyers avoided homes that needed renovation or had problems with plumbing or electricity. Most of the Millennials I have worked with have desired a home that was move in ready. The ones that were willing to take on a project, usually knew someone that was a contractor to help with any repairs/upgrades. 

Other features that are important to this generation are the size of the home and the type of heating and cooling. The average size home purchased is 1,850 square feet, containing 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Younger Millennials purchased townhomes at higher shares than other age groups. Older Millennials focused more on single family homes. The national trend of having children at an older age certainly plays into the change we are seeing in these statistics. Homes with a heat pump that provide forced air heating and cooling were the most desirable to this generation. Although, I have found they are willing to compromise on this feature at times and sacrifice air conditioning for a lower priced home. Heating and cooling costs were also an important consideration for my clients, resulting in oil furnaces and baseboard electric heat in homes being less desirable.

Ninety-seven percent of Millennials used online websites during their home search. Photos are the number one website feature buyers want to see when looking for property online. Professional marketing is vital to generating interest in your home when selling real estate. When listing your home with The Nolen Group, you can expect professional marketing services that highlight your homes features. Staying up to date on generational trends helps us represent our clients to the best of our ability. We are always happy to discuss specific segments of the market in more detail!

 

Source: NAR 2020 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report