Whether they’re seeking a turnkey ready home or are willing to invest a little sweat equity, millennial buyers have many of the same home features on their wish lists, according to a recent Bankrate article on selling to Gen Y buyers.
Read more about this group of home shoppers: What Millennial Buyers Want (Now)
Gen Y/millennials, born between 1980 and 2000, now makes up the largest percentage of today’s buyers at 31 percent, according to NAR’s 2014 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study, followed by Gen X buyers at 30 percent and younger boomers at 16 percent.
Real estate practitioners should understand what millennials want in a home in order to help this group of clients find the right property. These “must-have” elements are also important to remember when prepping a new listing for the market.
Here are four of the home features (in no particular order) highlighted by Bankrate:
Updated kitchen and bathrooms: With limited cash to make immediate updates, a home that already has an updated kitchen and bathrooms will catch the eye of prospective Gen Y buyers.
Minimal upkeep: Millennial buyers are requesting low maintenance features, such as wood floors over carpet.
Energy Efficiency: More young buyers are asking for energy efficient features, including insulation, and they’re often willing to make upgrades after the sale in order to cut energy costs.
Home office: More and more millennials are working partially from home or telecommuting fulltime. A dedicated home office space is a winning feature for many in this group of buyers. Even those who don’t work from home want a workstation or flex space for their computer and mobile devices.
Source: “Must-haves to sell to young homebuyers,” Bankrate
