Answer: This Age Group makes up approximately 25% of the Canadian Population
Jeopardy-style Question: Who are Millennials?
Turning 40 has a way of changing your priorities! This year, the first millennials are turning 40, and wow does it ever show in the housing market! As we emerge from the pandemic, we’re paying close attention to one of the biggest housing and rental market customer groups.
Millennial fun facts:
- Born between 1981 and 1996, so they’re 25 to 40 years old now, and YES, they’re moving beyond the selfie stigma.
- This generation will inherit more money than any other generation before.
- Previous research had shown that Millennials had been slower to enter the real estate market than previous generations. This age group tended to marry later in life, have kids later in life, and have higher debt levels. But by 2016, RBC Economic Research was showing 43% of Millennials already owned a home (significantly higher than in the USA, as cited by RBC Economic Research 2019).
- Grew up with digital media. “Online” anything is normal.
A recent study (Dec 2020 through January 2021) by Royal Lepage looked at 2000 Canadian Millennials. They found 68% of those who did NOT own a home yet, were planning to purchase within the next 5 years. Their research also suggested 25% of millennials were buying during Covid. The main motivator appears to be the desire to get in at low interest rates (maybe throw in paid-off student debt, a baby or two, various levels of quarantine/isolation and the trend to own a pet).
It’s still early for all the statistics—those numbers will take many more months to fully process. But the early intel is on its way. Realtor.com has recently released an article about the Millennial experience with home buying: long searches, bidding wars, or buying an older home and needing to figure out renovations. Despite all these challenges, many persevered and bought a home. Another article this week by Fox news revealed that 6 in 10 Millennials had some buyer remorse (size of home, location, or price paid/costs of home ownership). If this is all true, these buyers may be on the move again soon.
As a real estate investor, we are paying close attention to this age group. Their buying preferences will affect our exit strategies, and our purchase prices. Their renting preferences will affect tenant demand in certain areas, and for certain types of homes. And their “shopping style” will affect our marketing: online applications, virtual tours, Youtube videos, etc….
There are endless predictions about the Post-Covid world and what it will look like. We love a pretty crystal ball as much as the next guy, but we also love facts, trends, and statistics. So we look at where the millennials are in their life-cycle. Covid may have changed some plans, but relationships, babies, pets and jobs are already requiring adjustments to the Avocado toast lifestyle. How can we best serve this age group with our real estate investments?
Feel free to post your ideas and answers to this question below. Or engage with us @MtnEdgeRenovate @MtnEdgeDevelops (IG or FB).
