What are Home Buyers Looking for in a Property?

What are people really looking for in a property today? It seems to depend largely on the age and generation of the home buyers. Let’s look at the major age brackets of buyers that make up the housing market and consider what type of property each generation is looking for based on their stage of life and culture. Hannah Moses of Delco Realty explains it all.

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Millennials:

The youngest home buyers in the market are millennials, aging from twenty-two to thirty-seven. While young, they are slowly taking over a majority of the real estate market. Generally, Millenials are attracted to the design and style of a house, but like most home buyers they prefer it to have everything they need on their checklist. The top features they are looking for include a laundry room, storage space, outdoor living space to enjoy, community resources, and exterior lighting. When it comes to design, the majority of Millenial home buyers seem to gravitate towards a modern, traditional home.

Baby Boomers:

Baby Boomers rank second in proportion of the buyer’s market today. These home buyers’ ages range from fifty-two to seventy. Standing at thirty percent of the population, forty percent of them will be moving in the next five years. The needs and wants of Baby Boomers is steadily changing, as the eldest part of the generation are reaching their retirement age and transitioning to a home based life. Cost of living stands out as one of the biggest priorities as to where these home buyers choose to live. Typically they want an area where the cost of living is low and manageable for them. Many Baby Boomers lean toward buying homes in which they can age comfortably in place. Neighborhoods and/or communities that provide landscape maintenance, community amenities, and an active town that offers events and classes to enjoy year-round are attractions for this generation.

Generation X and the Silent Generation:

The smallest portion of the buyer’s market is made up of Generation X and the Silent Generation. Generation X includes home buyers in the age range of thirty-six to fifty-one. They make up twenty-six percent of the market. Generation X tends to desire a suburban community that offers flexible living space as life changes with more square footage available as their family grows. Having a shorter commute to work along with access to good school districts are two features at the top of their lists.

The Silent Generation holds the smallest percentage of the market at nine percent, with ages ranging from seventy-one to eighty-eight. The silent generation trends to fall into the categories of retirement neighborhoods and communities, while most of these home buyers desire to live closer to family and friends. They look for smaller square footage in a home, as they do not wish to maintain a large house. They prefer a reasonably sized property that will fit their physical needs.

Property needs and wants are constantly changing and differ from each generation. Understanding what a client needs in a property as well as knowing what you as a buyer want is key to landing the perfect property for yourself.

Home Buyers By Generation: