Millennials As Consumers: How They Engage With Real Estate

They have grown up with new technology, are used to getting instant answers and are looking for experiences more than property. These are the “Millennials” (or “Generation Y”), born between the mid 1980s and the beginning of the new millennium, who are now between 18 and 35 years old. Due to their growing role in the consumer market, they are an increasingly relevant segment for all sectors of the economy.

For the real estate industry, it is critical to know and understand the behavior of these young people, who by 2025 will represent more than 70% of the workforce, and who have very different ways of thinking and consuming goods than previous generations (today’s adults, aged 40 to 70). For any real estate company, it’s important to know how to adapt to these new consumers who will be driving the market in the near future.

What are Millennials looking for? Where do they want to live? Do they prefer to rent or buy? Is this a generation without a landlord? In today’s article, these are all the answers we are going to uncover.

How Many Millennials Are Searching for Properties Online?

25% of all portal searches are conducted by Millennials. Within this group, 30-somethings are the most searching: 76% between 25 and 34 years old and 24% between 18 and 24 . Following the trend of searches in general, women are the ones who enter online searches the most: 72% are women versus 28% of men.

What Devices Do They Use to Search for Properties?

A large number of Millennials are searching for properties on their mobile devices. The average number of searches conducted from a cell phone is slightly lower than half of the users in general (where 45% of searches are conducted from a cell phone, compared to 51% from a computer and 4% from a tablet). We are facing a smartphone-dependent generation that spends several hours a day online and performs most of their actions through the cell phone, including searching for their future home.

Do They Rent Or Buy?

There is a marked trend among Millennials to prefer renting to buying. The data is overwhelming: 8 out of 10 millennials go online to search for rentals, and only 2 search for properties for sale. This figure exceeds the overall average rental search for all users (67% are looking to rent and 33% are looking to buy).

Are We Facing a Generation Without Landlords?

In reality, we are facing a shift in buying behavior that is later for this generation than for their parents or grandparents. Property buying is not disappearing for Millennials, but it is being postponed and begins to gain relevance as they pass the age of thirty (the oldest members of this generation).
Several factors account for this postponement: a desire for greater flexibility and mobility due to a lack of certainty about the future; less urgency to make long-term investments (and a greater interest in saving for experiences such as travel or education), a less favorable economic environment than the previous generation when entering the workforce (and thus less ability to save), and an extended phase of job formation and family settlement (according to global figures, only 25 percent of Millennials are married).

What Type of Property Are Millennials Looking for?

Again, many millennials don’t have plans for children yet, so they are looking for properties that fit their needs in a functional way, whether they are living alone or cohabiting. This is why studios and one-bedroom apartments are the most sought-after properties, as they are also more affordable for your income level.
At the same time, over the past seven years, the search for two or more bedroom houses and apartments for groups of friends of three or four (or more) has increased. Millennials are finding shared housing as a solution to becoming independent of family, a trend that is very typical of this generation (and one that has not lived, for example, their parents or grandparents).
Here you are! You now know more about how millennials go about real estate. Are you a millennial reading this article? Did we miss something? Share it in the comment below.