Page 105 - enLIGHTenment Magazine - January 2017

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2017 Housing Trends

TODAY’S HOME BUYER

35% female
Median Age is
Median income is
36
$87.5K

Gender

65% male
Y

ou might notice that the demographic
of the homebuyers coming into your

11%
lighting showroom is changing — and
10%
Silent Generation
that means you need to alter your sales approach
Latino/Hispanic
and customer service.
75%
16%
Baby Boomers
The Zillow Group Report on Consumer Housing
7%
Trends reveals that half of the current home buy- White

Black/African- ers in the U.S. are under age 36, which means a Gen X
American
31%
5%
new generation – Millennials – is shaping the future
of real estate. Despite demographic reports about
Asian/Paci c Islander
young adults’ urban lifestyles, Millennials share 2% Millennials
their parents’ aspirations for a single-family home, Other
42%
o en in the suburbs.eventually.

While they are delaying buying a home later than
the generations before them, Millennials perform

far more social (Internet) home searches and seek
input from friends, relatives, and neighbors roughly

58 percent of the time, versus the Silent Genera- INITIAL CONDITION OF THE HOME

tion (the 50 million people born between 1925 and
1945), who poll friends 37 percent of the time.

Many Millennials (26 percent) even choose
their real estate agent online or through personal
7%
referral (33 percent). Just as Millennials tend to

scrutinize their purchases more than generations
before them, they take the same cautious ap-

proach when selecting a real estate agent, asking 18%  Needed a complete
friends and family about their experiences and overhaul
45%
reading online reviews. Overall, they are looking Needed a li le updating

to do business with people they deem trustworthy
and responsive to their needs.
 Brand new

While older generations rely on real estate  Recently remodeled or
agents for information and expertise, Millennials updated

expect real estate agents to become trusted advis-

ers and strategic partners. In fact, the process of
nding or selling a home is much more collabora- 30%

tive for Millennials. They bring all available tools to
the process, including their smartphones, social

january 2017 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 103