Real Estate Guide: Millennials on the Move

Make no mistake, millennials are (literally) on the move. As a real estate agent or home builder, it’s important to understand why this generation is changing it’s preference for where they settle down and buy a home. The reasons for this change in demographic can be attributed to many things, but these are the most important factors to understand when it comes to location preferences for the millennial generation.

Fleeing the coast:

Over the last 10 years, many millennials made the move to stay away from the crowded, over priced coastal cities  to move inland. Specifically, the cities of Charlotte, Houston, and Austin saw the biggest growth in millennial population. In fact, 8 out of 10 of the top cities for population growth among this generation were in the central part of the country. Cities like San Francisco and Seattle were exceptions to this trend as they were also in the top 10, but that can most likely be attributed to thriving job markets and progressive societies that attract much of this generation.

Millennials are the most likely to move:

Over the last decade or so, millennials are the generation most likely to migrate and move. Whether it’s their natural tendency to be non-complacent, rising costs of living, or graduating school and starting a career the numbers don’t lie. Check out this graphic showing the drastic difference between age groups for likeliness to migrate.

So, now that you understand where millennials are moving, why are these choosing these places?

• Strong Job Market: Moving to a location with a strong job market can be a decision made for many reasons like a recent graduation, being priced out of a market, or new career opportunities. When it comes to any generation, it should be no surprise that people would move to areas with growing job markets.
• Urban Living, Central Location: Even though cities like Denver don’t scream “urban” living because of their location, they’re some of the fastest growing areas and places where millennials are drawn to. Home-builders are choosing design plans and living styles in these areas that attract this generation.
• High Home-Ownership Percentage: In the cities across the heart of the United States, the percentage of those owning homes has been increasing over the last decade plus. Again, this can be related back to strong job markets and a desirability to move to these areas especially because cost of living.

When it comes to millennials on the move, what does this mean for you as a realtor or home-builder?

As either of these, understanding one of the key generations of home-buyers already in or coming into the market is important to your success. It all comes down to knowing who your target market it, pin pointing the things they desire, and executing on a strong marketing plan to that audience. Millennials have a strong, growing presence in the Seattle-Tacoma area and are coming into their buying power for homes. An effective marketing plan starts with knowing your audience and ranges to a bit of everything (social media, email, website, etc.). At The Marketing Desks, we can help realtors and home-builders alike identify your audience, formulate a plan, and even help put it into action.