Dear Real Estate Industry, Prepare for the Millennials August 28, 2015 @ 10:20 am By Jason Fritton The traditional world of real estate needs to prepare for the next wave of investors – Millennials. Currently ranging in age from 18 to 34, and numbering roughly 77 million, Millennials make up about one-fourth of the U.S. population – […] The post Perhaps another more stronger reason the Lower Mainland market is hot? appeared first on Andy Schildhorn, PREC.

The traditional world of real estate needs to prepare for the next wave of investors – Millennials. Currently ranging in age from 18 to 34, and numbering roughly 77 million, Millennials make up about one-fourth of the U.S. population – and are far less interested in traditional investing or banking options compared to other generations. According to a survey of more than 10,000 Millennials,   71 percent would rather go to the dentist   than listen to what banks are saying. That’s a lot of teeth cleanings!

Additionally, Millennials are the   best-educated group of young adults in U.S. history and now make up the largest generation in the workforce, meaning in a few years they’ll be ready to purchase homes and start making significant investment decisions. As Millennials enter their peak home-buying years, this could lead to a surge in home sales.

Traditional real estate has primarily been an “offline” industry. Baby Boomers and Generation Xers would often use traditional banks to secure a loan when buying a residential or even commercial property. The old school way of investing will begin to fade as the investment approach of choice for the Millennial-generation shifts.

Here are four key things the real estate industry should note in order to be prepared for Millennials:

Millennials are the nation’s most stubborn economic optimists. According to   Pew Research , 32 percent currently have enough money to live the lives they want and 52 percent expect to in the future. This means they’ll likely be interested in investing their money somewhere. It’s important for the real estate industry to realize this and provide them with easy platforms for them to invest.

Millennials are getting married and having children later in life than previous generations. They’re also waiting longer to leave the nest.

In 2010, 30 percent of 18-34 year olds were still living with their parents, compared to in 1968 when 56 percent of 18-31-year-olds were married and living in their own household. However, that doesn’t mean Millennials never want to own a home and get married. In fact,   93 percent of Millennials   between the ages of 18 and 34 want to own a home sometime in the future, while 70 percent hope to get married someday.

Having been built for and supported by the collective investors, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer solutions are the perfect fit for Millennial investment opportunities.

Most of the current real estate market is stuck in a pre-tech era. As more Millennials join the workforce and continue earning more money, it’s important for the real estate industry to prepare. If we want to keep growing our economy and enhancing our communities, we need to start adapting. Millennials will lead the next generation of Americans so we should make sure we not only understand their needs and preferences, but also start developing tactics that cater to them. Many of these tactics can be as simple as offering investment and real estate apps, making it easy to invest from anywhere using any device. Whatever tactics traditional banks and real estate entities take, they need to prepare for the Millennials as their prime home-buying years are fast approaching.

The post Perhaps another more stronger reason the Lower Mainland market is hot? appeared first on Andy Schildhorn, PREC.