What’s behind the trend among young people of buying smaller homes?
On the August 8 episode of my Lykken on Lending podcast, we had the opportunity to discuss millennials with mortgage industry expert Robert England. One of the interesting things that occurred to me in our conversation is the question about a trend toward millennials buying smaller homes. Why aren't millennials interested in larger homes or properties?
According to Robert England, millennials value experiences over possessions. Owning a home of substantial size isn't as important to millennials, because they don't plan to spend a great deal of time at home. More so than their parents, millennials love use their financial resources to travel and see the world rather than to stay in one spot. For older generations, the home was the castle. For millennials, the world is the castle.
Understanding that millennials think in this way can be discouraging for those of us in the mortgage industry, but we cannot deny reality; we've got to adapt to reality. Knowing what millennials value can help us understand how to market to them. Instead of focusing our pitch on providing millennial customers with a "home," maybe we ought to consider focusing our messaging on providing millennial customers with a "home base." Everyone, even people who like to spend their traveling, has to live somewhere. Maybe we need to rethink what "home" means for this new generation. What do you think?
According to Robert England, millennials value experiences over possessions. Owning a home of substantial size isn't as important to millennials, because they don't plan to spend a great deal of time at home. More so than their parents, millennials love use their financial resources to travel and see the world rather than to stay in one spot. For older generations, the home was the castle. For millennials, the world is the castle.
Understanding that millennials think in this way can be discouraging for those of us in the mortgage industry, but we cannot deny reality; we've got to adapt to reality. Knowing what millennials value can help us understand how to market to them. Instead of focusing our pitch on providing millennial customers with a "home," maybe we ought to consider focusing our messaging on providing millennial customers with a "home base." Everyone, even people who like to spend their traveling, has to live somewhere. Maybe we need to rethink what "home" means for this new generation. What do you think?
