Clever Real Estate just released it latest research about how and what kinds of homes Millennials are buying. (Clever is a national real estate marketing service that connects homeowners with top local agents for a reduced, flat rate fee of just $3,000.) Overall. Cleaver found that among the 1,000 Millennial buyers it surveyed, Millennials who are willing to make an offer on a property within the next 12 months are willing to buy a multi-family property and/or a property that “needs work.”
In order to tackle the huge affordability problem, 68% of Millennial buyers are willing to make an offer on a property that needs major work. 52% of Millennials are also willing to become owners and landlords of a multi-family property in which they themselves would also be living so they could apply any rental income to the building’s mortgage and/or renovation costs.
According to Tommy O’Shaughnessy, Clever’s research analyst, “Like most everyone, we were struggling to understand the illusive Millennial buyer so we put together a survey to figure out who these buyers really are. And we found out that, in some ways, they couldn’t be more different than their predecessors in terms of their values, expectations and methods.”
Clever found that Millennial buyers are more than willing to buy properties in need of major improvements. Either they themselves will do those improvements or they’ll hire someone else to make those improvements on an all at once or piecemeal basis over time. The caveat to buying these in-need-of-repair-renovation properties is that they themselves can move into the property right away.
Clever also found that Millennial buyers will consider multi-family properties, duplexes/triplexes/quads, and rent out the “spare” units while they themselves are living on site in the property. The “passive” income from the rental income most often goes to mortgage payments and repairs. Again, the caveat here is that the Millennial buyer can move into the property right away.
These two “compromises” of “in-need” properties and/or multi-family properties while they repair what’s needed and/or become landlords are most often seen by Millennials as a means to an end…and that “end” is eventually being able to afford their “dream” single-family house.
A word to the wise agents/brokers from Clever Real Estate…include multi-family and “in need” properties in your search and showings for your Millennial clients. These properties may turn out to be their jackpots.
