Today, the real estate market is filled with prospective homebuyers who happen to be millennials.

At this point, most millennials are already striking out on their own. Many of them are married, have kids, and are starting to settle down. In this regard, it is inevitable for many of them to look for an appropriate place for themselves and their family. As these are the potential homebuyers currently dominating the real estate market, it makes sense to ask: What are the features in a dwelling that appeal to millennials? Well, before we dive into what these specific homebuyers are looking for in a home, it would make sense to define and determine who they are first.

WHO ARE THE MILLENNIALS?

Millennials or the Gen Y generation are people born between 1980 and 1997. Today, this is one of the biggest generation groups—accumulating nearly thirty percent of the world population. Moreover, research has found that millennials are expected to surpass the number of their parent generation, “Baby Boomers,” to be the largest generation in the world.

MILLENNIALS AS HOMEBUYERS

As the generation born into an era where a plethora of information is readily available, millennials are some of the world’s shrewdest purchasers. This is the generation that believes in purposeful buying, and to do that, they make intelligent and well-researched approaches. Therefore, millennials buy a home according to their needs more than their wants. However, it should be noted that the word “housing” denotes various meanings to the same group of millennials, which is largely dependent on the kind of lifestyle they have.

That said, millennials are not too picky with the type of domestic setup they want to have. On the contrary, this is the generation that loves to experiment with different living arrangements—ranging from rental accommodations, condo spaces, co-living spaces to house ownership.

So, what do millennials look for in a home?

Whether it may be a house and lot in Cavite or a condo in a major metropolis, below are just some of the features a house can have that appeal to this generation:

THINGS MILLENNIALS LOOK FOR WHILE BUYING A HOME:

1.) Modern living

As the generation born into an era of modern convenience, millennials believe in contemporary living. Apart from that, this younger generation believes in value for money investments. Today, they have an abundance of options, so much so that they can make comparisons and choose one that makes the most sense to them and their lifestyles. That said, developers and builders should have a keen eye to catering to this portion of society and understand this sentiment.

Millennials are busy individuals. They are always on the go and have little time for anything else. Their dynamic and hectic corporate lifestyle gives them approximately a third of their day’s time to be spent in their personal spaces. That said, they wish for this experience to be as comfortable, convenient, relaxing, and rejuvenating. As a result, millennials tend to gravitate towards uncluttered modern living spaces equipped with well-designed architecture. Apart from that, options for recreational areas also appeal to them.

2.) Proximity to business and commercial hubs

Millennials love spending their free time in commercial hubs and mall complexes. However, they do not wish to spend a chunk of their time sitting in traffic. As a result, housing societies located in proximity to commercial and business hubs are favorable choices to them. After all, millennials have an increased inclination to spend their downtime on leisure and entertainment. With that in mind, developers should be receptive to this need, be willing to address this, and plan their projects accordingly.

3.) Technological convenience

Millennials live in a fast-paced world and are constantly exposed to the latest technological innovations. Inevitably, technology and convenience drive this generation so much that newer inventions tend to give them the thrill that they would readily dive into. As a result, millennials tend to prefer spaces that reflect the current technological prowess of the world. However, keep in mind that as shrewd and keen buyers, millennials are likely to think twice before giving in to any unnecessary expenditure. That said, millennials tend to evaluate their potential purchases before finalizing them. Therefore, living spaces that address their needs and lifestyle would make the most sense as an investment.

4.) Effective security systems

Millennials do not spend a considerable fraction of their time at home unless working remotely. As they only spend a little of their time at home on regular weekends, it would make sense if one of their lives’ most significant investments is adequately protected and secured. Millennials are more inclined to invest in homes with a security system that gives them added monitoring and the feel of living in a modern and updated, secure environment. This is because you cannot put a price tag on the peace of mind afforded by safety and security. Any home that comes with an additional layer of security, such as high-tech cameras and other security systems, is sure to entice millennials into making an offer.

5.) Socially welcoming spaces

Today, co-living spaces have become more and more commonplace. These modernized living spaces attract millennials and the younger generation because of their flexible accommodation plans. But, more importantly, these living spaces have better living conditions without interference and restrictions from landlords.

6.) Home Offices

While millennials operate on a busy schedule away in their offices, there has been a significant rise of remote workers in these particular generations. At the onset of the pandemic, plenty of millennials have started considering their options, and the idea of flexible working appealed to them the most. That said, a number of them report to the office only a couple of times per week to discuss ideas with their colleagues and spend the rest of their working days at home.

Conversely, there are also remote workers who work from home exclusively. For that reason, having a functional and decent home office is paramount. Their dwellings need to have enough space to accommodate a home office where a young worker can quickly open their laptop, get to work, and earn their money in peace.

7.) Functional Kitchens

Millennials consider homes that have separated the kitchen from the rest of the house outdated. Instead, they prefer kitchen layouts where the scullery and lounge area are in a single room. This is because millennials love entertaining. When they are cooking for guests, they do not want to seclude themselves in another room while working. Instead, they want to invite guests over, cook and socialize with them at the same time.

8.) Well-maintained roofs

Millennials have a keen awareness of the maintenance issues that can potentially pop up when buying a potential property. While they love to redecorate fixer-uppers, they do not want to be encumbered with financial burdens such as fixing broken tiles and gutter cleaning. Millennials tend to look for new roofs or freshly repaired masonry properties. They do not want to have to deal with these issues themselves.

9.) Great Location

While there are plenty of things that millennials want differently in their own living spaces, some things stay the same. One of these is wanting a great location. As it is, the importance of a great location cannot be stressed enough, and millennials are aware of this. As said above, millennials love living in neighborhoods close to commercial establishments and business hubs. Apart from that, they also like living in areas close to work. In fact, it has been found that a real estate property’s location is a huge deciding factor in choosing a home. That said, this is the generation that would likely be more receptive to living in urban areas considering their fast-paced lifestyle.

10.) Environmentally Conscious

Lastly, millennials care about their carbon footprint insofar that they focus on their home’s impact on the environment and their overall energy consumption. Considering that these are environmentally conscious individuals, it would make sense to market environmentally-friendly spaces to them. As a developer, you need to consider how your project can fit that narrative when marketing your home to a millennial homebuyer. There is a myriad of things you can do to make your properties environmentally conscious—many of which can be done easily and quickly.

Apart from appealing to the values of this target market, having an environmentally conscious home also helps them save money on bills.

CONCLUSION

Indeed, millennials are the generation taking the real estate market by storm today. This set of homebuyers is a little keener and shrewder than their older counterparts in the sense that they want something different than what was offered to previous generations. When preparing a house for sale, as a developer, house seller, or real estate agent, keep this demographic in mind. They now make up the largest share of home buyers.