We all know about the most common generational differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers (4 words: avocado toast vs. Facebook), but how do generations differ in housing preferences?
Online real estate platform Opendoor recently conducted a survey to take a look at how real estate preferences differ across generations, from Zillennials (read: those in-between Gen Z and Millennial) to Boomers, as 28 million Americans plan on buying a house in the next 12 months. Here’s how it breaks down.
Investments
For those ready to buy a house:
- Millennials (ages 29-39) would rather invest in a move-in ready property, but
- Baby Boomers (ages 56-74) prefer to roll up their sleeves and renovate a fixer-upper
If not quite ready to take the plunge into the real estate market:
- Millennials are putting their current assets in Cryptocurrency, while
- Baby Boomers pad their retirement accounts
Generational must-haves
Percentages who favor environmentally-friendly home features, including sustainably-made materials, solar panels + tankless hot water heaters:
- 26% of Millennials vs.
- 8% of Baby Boomers
Those who want smart-home features like speaker hubs, appliances, doorbells + security cameras:
- 20% of Millennials, and only
- 2% of Baby Boomers
Overall, a modern kitchen continues to rank as one of the most coveted features across generations. Everyone still gathers in the kitchen.
Compromising
Those who anticipate overpaying to get the home they want:
- 42% of Baby Boomers vs.
- 25-33% of Zillennials (ages 25-28), Millennials + Generation X (ages 40-55).
And those expecting they won’t be able to get all the home features they want:
- 41% (almost half) of Zillennials, vs.
- 27-34% of older generations like Millennials, Generation X + Baby Boomers.
The age groups who are worried about having to settle for a different neighborhood:
- 38% of Millennials (the most worried group), compared to only
- 14-26% for younger Zillennials and older Generation X + Baby Boomers.
Lastly, Generation X is more likely than Baby Boomers to need financial help to land their dream home.
Money talks
Recently, 25% of offers are all-cash — a percentage of cash offers that’s up 15% from a year ago. Of all generational group’s, 75% of sellers say a financed offer would need to be ~10% higher than a cash offer to close. The study found if a cash offer comes from a company, like an Opendoor-backed offer, buyers could waive financial + appraisal contingencies, and increase their chances of securing the sale.
Good things come to those who wait
Almost 4/10 Americans (38%) who are looking to buy a home in the next year say they’ve paused their search. When asked about trade-offs, most buyers (73%) agreed they would wait a year to find their dream home, while only 27% said they would compromise to get to move now. This was consistent across generations.
Armed with all these insights, are you ready to find your dream digs? Those in the market can download the Opendoor app to conveniently find, tour + close on a dream home and find out their home’s value with a free quote from Opendoor.
For the purpose of Opendoor’s report, Zillennials are defined as ages 25-28, Millennials are defined as ages of 29-39, Generation X is defined as ages 40-55 and Baby Boomers are defined as ages 56-74. Ⓟ
