Who are they?
Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980’s as starting birth years and the mid-1990’s to early 2000’s as ending birth years, with 1981 to 1996 a widely accepted defining range for the generation. This generation has not only lived through a boom in technology, but they also observed a recession that resulted in a housing collapse.
Having witnessed the historic housing collapse between 2007 – 2009, many believed that this generation would end up being perpetual renters. After all, they are accustomed to living a subscription-based lifestyle. For example, how many of these young adults purchase the music they listen to? This same logic has long been applied to the living arrangements for millennials, many of which observed their parents lose their homes to foreclosures or short sales. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that this segment of the population would be hesitant to purchase a home.
Millennials and the current real estate market
Fast forward to the current real estate market and millennials are now a dominant force. As a matter of fact, just last year, millennials surpassed baby boomers as the largest living adult generation of the U.S. population. This group also hit another milestone just last year as they now account for more than half of all new home loans. This is welcomed news to many baby boomers that may now be looking to sell their homes in order to downsize.
In closing, the economic impacts of the current pandemic have certainly affected many millennials. For subsets of this population that may be experiencing a lost or decrease of wages, they will most likely remain renting for the foreseeable future. However, millennials that have managed to remain employed are most certainly taking advantage of historically low interest rates that are boosting buying power!
Are you a millennial that is thinking about buying or selling a home? We would love to hear from you! Feel free to contact Live South Florida Realty, Inc. today! (Yes, we know that you prefer to text & that is fine as well…)
