The real estate press is very vocal about the importance of connecting with the Millennial Home Buyer - for good reason. The generation born between roughly 1982 and Y2K are the next great home buying wave. In fact, according to the 2012 Census, this group is about 20% of the American population!
There are lots of distinguishing characteristics for this group, but I tend to generalize them into three large categories: Technology, Predictability and Debt.
Technology: This generation grew up pointing an clicking and quickly graduated to touch screens and smart phones. For most of us, the computer is a thing that sits on the floor and connects to a screen via a cable. For others, it is a flat thing that opens like a book. For the Millennials, it is a handheld device that slips easily in or out of a purse or pocket - what most of us call a cell phone. This group understands and knows how to use technology much better than their elders. They are aware of and can use all of the apps and tech tools that help today's home buyers in their quests.
Predictability: This goes hand-in-glove with technology because if our computers, tablets and smart phones are anything, they are predictable. You push the button, you click the link and an anticipated result occurs. Today's tech is so predictable that manufacturers no longer ship manuals with their products. Products are expected to be intuitive - which is the ultimate in predictability. Millennials have grown up in a step-one, step-two, push-the-button world. They expect their real estate transactions to progress in much the same way. Unfortunately, one of the great truths about real estate transactions is that they can be unpredictable. There are so many moving parts that most transactions develop at least a small problem at some point along the way. Helping the Millennial home buyer stay comfortable at these uncertain times is essential.
Debt: College graduate Millennials come with an extra set of baggage: student loans. Tuition costs today are so high that most recent graduates leave campus with both a degree and a student loan to pay. Loans of $20,000 - $40,000 are not unusual. As you might imagine, debt of any kind reduces buying power and even those who land good jobs after college find their ability to qualify for a mortgage compromised by student debt.
For The Vincent Group at GreatNest, we actively seek out this group of new home buyers. Believe it or not, our Triad area is very attractive to Millennials because the cost of living is lower than many other areas. Here, they can afford to own a home and a car and still pay their student loans! That's why we invest heavily in tech-based marketing, things like Facebook, Google Ad Words, YouTube and a myriad of Internet property portals. The more high tech our marketing can be the more likely we are to attract these tech savvy buyers.
We also work very hard to educate our young buyers about the real estate buying process. We make it as step-by-step as possible and communicate progress continually to help keep our home buyers comfortable.
Finally, we study finance and mortgage loan programs constantly so that when we meet with a Millennial home buyer we are equipped with the tools that can make their home ownership dream a reality.
If you are dreaming of owning your first home but it seems impossible, call us. We can work with you to turn that impossible dream into reality. We have the tools and the knowledge to make home buying not only smooth and predictable, but also . . . fun.
As always, at The Vincent Group at GreatNest we are proud to save our clients money by charging a low set fee instead of a percentage commission. We are a full-service real estate company serving buyers and sellers in Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem, Summerfield, Oak Ridge, Jamestown, and other Piedmont Triad areas. Please get in touch with our experienced real estate professionals by calling (336) 790-5210 or by emailing Steve Vincent. Visit our website at greatnest.com.