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Center for REALTOR® Development Podcast

Rethinking What You Know About Gen Z and Millennial Homebuyers

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Overview

In this episode, we are joined by Mandy Neat who is going to discuss commonalities in homebuying trends with Generation Y (Millennials) and Generation Z. With significant cultural changes happening at increasingly fast speeds, we see notable differences in these generations. While we never want to generalize, there are some markers with these generations that can help us understand our clients better. In this episode, we learn more about these generations and how we can manage their expectations with preparation and communication. We want to help you be able to help them!

[5:20] Mandy discusses the different generations. She brings up a conversation with a Gen Z about what he would want in a house. 

[7:33] Gen Y is the next largest home-buying group after Baby Boomers.

[11:06] Mandy sees that people are not going right to college from high school. They see housing as an asset. Some are buying investment properties. 

[15:46] Younger Millennials are becoming first-time home buyers. They are trying to pay off their student debt, while Gen Z is avoiding going into student debt.

[18:55] COVID-19 changed house-buying habits. At the beginning of COVID-19, Younger Millennials and Gen Z-ers jumped into the market without fear.

[21:48] Gen Y and Gen Z want everything to be easy to understand. Home buying is potentially complicated and may take time. Mandy discusses the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) as a resource.

[27:55] Younger people go to an app on their phone to get information. Real estate professionals need to get in front of technology trends.

[30:11] Mandy talks about DPA (Down Payment Assistance) which can help clients buy a house. She also discusses knowing your Confirming Loan Limit.

[34:44] Mandy shares that a lot of Gen Z-ers are using family gifts. There are All-In-One Loans where the home buyer can set up a GoFundMe account to be applied toward a down payment. Lenders are coming out with products to help young borrowers.

[37:11] TikTok and YouTube make everything look so easy when it comes to home updates. People are opening their minds as to what is possible.

[41:12] Mandy is seeing more people buying homes with spaces to work from home and have a social life at home. There is a lot of openness in floor plans.

[44:19] Millennials care more about walkable city living rather than their apartment. Gen Z-ers are buying out of the city in more affordable growing areas. 

[47:35] Mandy comments on what she observed recently in Wichita, Kansas, with a community full of Gen Z-ers, built around diversity. 

[51:56] Mandy hopes that all generations will allow Gen Z and the younger Millennials to get in the conversation of infrastructures, jobs and how to make a difference.

[52:40] If you enjoyed this episode, there are classes you can take to enhance your knowledge: ABR® (Accredited Buyer’s Representation), and the Buyers by Generation: Success in Every Segment course.

If this conversation has helped you realize that perhaps more conversation about generations would be helpful, there are classes you can take: the ABR® and an elective, Buyers by Generation: Success in Every Segment, at crd.realtor.

Tweetables

"It’s just how their brains are wired. They have so much information. At 18, there’s no reason not to go out and purchase, instead of paying all this tuition money, and build your legacy for your wealth in the future. It’s an amazing generation." — Mandy Neat

"We need good loan officers. We need to empower the mortgage industry to take time with people … and show them the numbers … and … professionals in the real estate community that are willing to … go over it with them to make sure all their questions are answered." — Mandy Neat

"You can obtain a Down Payment Assistance Program and offset your down payment. Try to negotiate closing costs with the seller. You can come in with a minimal amount and own a half-a-million-dollar asset. What other country can you do that in?" — Mandy Neat

"Gen Z and Millennials have this great thing where lenders are coming out with products to help them collect money to buy a house." — Mandy Neat

About Mandy Neat

Mandy Neat is the 2023 Treasurer for the Arizona Association of REALTORS®. She serves on committees and as a member of the board of directors for the local association WeSERV, which is the West and Southeast REALTORS® of the Valley, where she is also a Past President. She serves with the Arizona Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS®. She obtained her license in 2004 and has continued to serve her community as an advocate for home ownership as well as assisting other professionals to succeed. She truly believes in her value statement of making you matter. As a current managing broker of Realty One Group, she puts her agents’ needs and their clients first, daily.

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