I have christened Milennials the Concierge Generation.
These kids aren’t so bad after all! Turns out, they actual buy homes, even though some of us may have thought they’d live in dorms forever. According to Real Estate Coach Travis Robertson, millennials bought up about one-third of residential real estate in 2013. This is very much in tune with what we learned last week in Las Vegas at Luxury Portfolio/Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
Robertson points out that the median age of Realtors in this country is 57, but the median age of first-time home buyers is 31. That right could be a problem: how will the two adapt?
Actually, my son, who bought a home at the ripe old age of 28, adapted very well to his middle-aged agent, who had children his age and could therefore relate. Because, as Robertson points out, this generation may be buying homes, but they have vastly difference tastes from mom and dad.
They Do Not Like Big Houses
Maybe it was an unpleasant divorce, or a financial freefall just as they were getting out of college, but these kids, more than 50 percent of who come from divorced homes, don’t pine for big houses. They think that martial strife is caused by money issues which stem from having to support a big ole’ house. The big big houses also create multiple rooms where people can hide from one another, and avoid communication and contact.
What they want: smaller houses on smaller lots. Besides, they are not going to do the yardwork, anyway.
They Do Not Like the Suburbs
In general, Gen Y embraces urban culture and thrives in culturally diverse environments. I say in general, because Dallas suburbs are loaded with Milennials who love living there. The diversity crush is the result of school busing, teaching them to love everyone, and the multiple multi-cultural experiences their parents strive so hard to provide. Urban areas are culturally diverse and have the museums they know from countless field trips. But Gen Y doesn’t want to make the field trips, they’d rather live next door to them.
And guess what: so do mom and dad.
This is exactly what makes urban living so attractive to millennials. The typical urban area supports all income levels. It’s quite common to have hip owners of startups living in penthouses in downtown high-rises; artists, musicians and designers living in condos or lofts in mixed-use commercial areas; and locals who have owned their funky old houses for years prior to the regentrification.
Since Baby Boomers have more cash to buy these expensive urban condos, that pushes up the prices, the kids back out to the suburbs or peripherals. Still, developers are trying to meet their needs by re-developing in-town areas to create hip, affordable homes. Best example in Dallas: PSW Real Estate’s up-and-coming Bishop Heights and 1600 Kings Highway: 45 and 31 houses (respectively) that are a stroll to Kidd Springs Park and walkable to Bishop Arts, Tyler-Davis and the Kessler Theater.
PSW hails from Austin, and so does Robertson:
To address this issue, many builders are now creating urbanized centers in suburban areas. For example, I live about 25 minutes from downtown Austin. Two miles from us, however, is a new urban center with lots of shops and restaurants, a town square where they have concerts, regular events for kids, a movie theater, sports bars, a library and a bookstore. There’s a Whole Foods market, a farmers market nearby on Sunday, and a walking trail that caters to those seeking a healthier lifestyle.
This will be happening, too, at the new Valley View Mall undergoing a massive renovation by Beck Ventures. Depots of living and neighborhoods all over the city!
Milennials Recycle!
My kids recycle way more than I do. My daughter reminds me not to put plastic bags in the recycling bin but to take them to Tom Thumb. In California, I swear my son now counts sheets of paper towels. This is the boy who used to leave lights on in his closet until I drew up a poster saying, “Your inheritance is going to TXU.”
Robertson says 57 percent of all members of Gen Y prefer products that are environmentally friendly, and the number is growing.
Of course, builders are responding, and so should agents. Both the Bishop Heights and Kings Highway projects mentioned above have solar heat. And builders tell me composite counters are now out-selling the granites.
Milennials Walk and Ride Bikes
Maybe it’s because we hauled them everywhere to games and practice and school, but many millennials would prefer to walk or ride their bikes, even to work if they can. They are more active (yeah!) because physical education was incorporated into their lives in school, and they know it’s good for them!
But an urbanized life doesn’t have to be an urban life. It can be life in a suburban subdivision that has biking and hiking trails. Or it can be what two friends did this weekend, on Saturday before the cold hit: biked the Northaven Trail as far as they could go for drinks.
