Selling Homes To A Generation of Perpetual Children

Over 32% of 18-34 year old’s in the largest generation our country has ever produced somehow cannot seem to move out of their parent’s house.  Let me repeat that for clarification, millennials are the largest generation America has ever produced.  They are not simply the largest now because baby boomers are on the decline, millennials are a larger group right now than baby boomers were at their peak.  If this massive group of people is waiting so long to branch out onto their own, what impact does this trend have on the housing market?

Is there anything you are doing right now to account for this shift?  Is marketing toward this age group even an effective way to manage your time and resources?  During my career with home sales I have found myself in a couple of different selling positions.  Position one, I am trying to convince a customer to buy my house instead of my competitor’s. Position two, I am trying to convince a customer to buy my house instead of rent an apartment.  Position three, I have already sunk the deal and am just trying to sell up and cross sell price driving options.  In all three of these positions I am selling to a customer who is actively shopping for a home, at no point am I trying to sell to someone who is uninterested or unable to buy my product.

Is this the key to the dilemma?  Should we just stop trying to pull 20 year olds out of the basement and focus on people 30 and above?  There is still a large portion of the 18-34 age group that are potential home buyers and they will come to us when they are ready to purchase a home, but maybe it is not in our best interest to try to find them.  Eventually 18 year olds will be 35 and enter the age group of home buying should we just hang tight and focus on them when they are ready?

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