Millennial Homebuying Trends: How to Reach the Newest & Largest Purchasing Group

Whether you’ve been a real estate agent for years or are relatively new to the job, you’ve likely noticed the way buyers search for and purchase homes has changed dramatically in recent years. You can thank millennials for that.

Millennial homebuying trends look vastly different compared to past generations and the same goes for what millennials want in a home. So, it’s no secret that real estate agents must change their tactics for reaching this growing homebuying group.

Who Are Millennials?

Millennials, also known as ‘Generation Y’, were born between 1981 and 1996. Today, they are between the ages of 24 and 39, and many were young children or teenagers at the start of the digital age. As one of the first generations to regularly use the Internet, they are information-hungry, tech and social media savvy, and visual learners.

It hasn’t been easy for millennials to reach ‘homebuyer’ status. Many faced the ripple effects of a financial crisis once they graduated from college and this made the path for millennials buying a home look completely different than the real estate market could predict.

What are Millennial Homebuying Trends?

In order to reach this growing homebuying group, it’s important to understand how millennials buy homes and what they want in a home. According to Business Insider, millennials are:

• Making smaller down payments
• Settling for smaller homes
• Moving out of city-living and into the suburbs
• Focusing on quality over quantity (smaller homes that are recently renovated and move-in ready v. large spaces that require home improvement)

The homebuying process isn’t slowing down for millennials, either. Why? Historically low interest rates are making it easier for millennials to take out larger loans and more work-from-home trends are allowing for more saving.

Now that you know who millennials are and what they’re looking for, it’s time to reach this newest and largest purchasing group.

We’ll just come right out and say it:

You must have a social media presence in order to market homes to millennials. If you’re still not sold, Sprout Social shares these eye-opening statistics:

• 77% of realtors actively use social media for real estate in some way, shape, or form
• 47% of real estate businesses note that social media results in the highest quality leads versus other sources
• 99% of millennials (and 90% of baby boomers) begin their home search online (as opposed to in-person referrals)

Keep reading for our list of ideas for how to make the most out of your real estate social media marketing.

4 Ways To Reach Millennial Homebuyers On Social Media

1. Facebook & Instagram Ads

Facebook and Instagram advertising allow you to cater your real estate listings to millennial home buying trends. Not only can you target your ads to reach specific age groups, but you can also target by household income and those with interests in home buying! It’s the best way to guarantee your listings are being seen by this group.

2. Virtual Tours

Since millennials are so visual, Facebook and Instagram are great platforms to showcase all of your listing’s photos and videos. First impressions are important to millennials. By thinking outside of the box with your photo and video editing, or virtual home tours, you’ll be creating visually compelling content that perfectly aligns with how millennials buy homes.

3. LinkedIn

Prove yourself a social media savvy realtor with your resume and experience on LinkedIn. It’s a great way for millennials to get a feel for the way you work before they commit to signing a contract. You can also target specific demographics on LinkedIn and send direct messages to millennials buying a home.

4. Hashtags & Emojis

Show the millennial audience you know how to use social media while at the same time having a bit of fun. The use of emojis and hashtags makes posts stand out and makes them easier to find. Get some inspiration for top real estate hashtags and how to use them here (via Zillow).

If you’re worried about running out of ideas across all of these marketing channels, there are plenty of things you can do to generate original content. Paying attention to millennial home buying trends as well as familiarizing yourself with trends on social media will help you create posts that feel relevant and fresh.

Affordable Homes for Young Homebuyers

One of the biggest takeaways that realtors should conclude about the millennial homebuyer is that many of them are looking for affordable, updated homes with flexible financing. Bluewood by Hillwood is a master-planned community with beautiful, affordable homes and an energetic, connected community.

With outdoor amenities like hiking and biking trails and a community pool, Bluewood is the perfect community for young homeowners with an active lifestyle. To get engagement from young families, let your millennial clients know that Bluewood offers everything that is important to them:

• Walkability to schools and community parks
• Short commute to Frisco and North Dallas
• On-site elementary school for children

Offer clients a virtual tour and educate them about the flexible building options available with every Bluewood home. Bluewood is the perfect community for engaging with millennial homebuyers and helping the youngest and largest home buying group take their first steps towards homeownership.