Does anybody really know what the “Millennial” demographic looks like? If you do a Google search for “What is a Millennial” you’ll find tons of articles and data that says… Millennials were typically born between the early 1980s, mid 1990s and early 2000s. That’s a pretty broad range if you ask me, but hey what do I know?
According to NAR the typical homebuyer in 2017 is a Millennial around 32 years of age. Their average household income is about $75K and their average home costs around $190K. It also appears that because the Millennial generation entered the housing market right around 2007, (we all know why that year was important) their buying power started much later than expected. I also think student loan debt has played a role in delaying the demand for purchasing new homes. It was much easier to stay at home right after college so that you could pay down debt and still eat a good meal. Obviously, that’s not the case for everyone, but it makes you think as to why some Millennials still haven’t made the leap into the housing market yet. Maybe they didn’t have the opportunity to live at home for a few years… maybe they had to jump right into the rental market and have focused on paying down debt rather than amassing more? What do you think?
To me this doesn’t mean that demand for first time homes is not there… I just think we’ll see an uptick of Millennials buying their first home after they pay off or substantially pay down their student loan debt. The average repayment plan for student loan debt is 10 years… BUT research has shown it’s going to take about 20 years to pay those things off.
If trying to figure out a marketing strategy for Millennials wasn’t tough enough… we have a fun new way to identify the next generation coming through… they’re called Centennials (cool right?). This generation does not know life without with cell phones, the internet and quite honestly instant gratification. Could the industry have misfired on marketing the speedy direct-to-consumer products to Millennials when in reality it’s the Centennials who want that option? I don’t have the answers, but it’s a very interesting thought.