Heat Level: 
Mild: These tips are beginner-friendly.
Bottom Line: The time has come... the generation that has grown up with the Internet is now becoming a major home-buying force. And with so many technologies defining their daily life, you can bet they have some thoroughly-modern expectations about the home-buying process.
Do This: Forget the stereotypes. Although millennials have take a lot of heat for their habits and preferences, you'll need to put any ideas aside and adapt to modern home-buying practices in order to keep up with this savvy demographic. Learn to speak their language and you'll have a wellspring of new business.
That’s right, the generation of over-priced lattes and avocado toast is buying homes.
Millennials, or Generation Y, are people who were born between 1980-2000. They are the largest living generation, representing one-quarter of the US population. Although millennials are becoming homeowners later in life compared to previous generations (hello recession), they are the nation’s most powerful consumers, making up the largest part of the home-buying market for the past five years in a row.
A majority of these home buyers are older millennials born 1980-1989. In fact, 52 percent of older millennials were first-time home buyers and made up 26 percent of recent home purchases in 2019. There's no doubt that young adults are taking over the housing market, but they’re also revolutionizing how homes are sold. So how do you tap into the new generation of homebuyers and get more clients in this age group? By understanding their needs.
Home-buying used to be a totally different world for older generations. Scouting Yellow Pages for local realtors is a thing of the past. Millennials are digitally savvy and love to research. Here are some quick stats on how millennials are becoming nesters:
99 percent of millennial buyers searched online to look for a home (source)
58 percent found the home they wanted to purchase on their smartphone or tablet (source)
30 percent of millennials purchased homes for $300,000 and higher (source)
It shouldn’t be a surprise that our first recommendation is a modern, fully-functional website. But in order to get these younger home-buyers to your website, your marketing efforts must be on platforms they frequently visit.
Having a strong social media strategy is much more than a post on your real estate business’ social media pages. You should be regularly creating high-quality content in the form of images, videos, and written content that links back to your website. Here are our tips on which platforms to focus your digital marketing efforts.
Give prospective homebuyers a live glimpse of a home you are selling using Facebook Live. This powerful (and yes, free) platform allows you to stream live video for up to four hours. Live videos are different than regular videos because they are caught in the moment and are much more engaging, like a world premier. Facebook users actually spend triple the amount of time watching a live video compared to regular videos. Your Facebook followers will be notified each time you go live and you can even promote your video after you’ve finished broadcasting to maximize your reach. Here is a handy guide on how to boost your Facebook videos.
To get as much exposure as possible after your broadcast has ended, make sure to have a clear, well-written description for your video. If you’re debuting a newly-listed single-family home in a nice neighborhood, tell viewers about its unique features in the description. Don’t forget to add a call-to-action link somewhere in the description to direct users to your website so they can get in touch with you. Adding tags to your video will also help your content become more discoverable. Last, but certainly not least, make sure to respond to all comments to increase engagement.
It’s unarguable that Instagram is one of the most popular social media platforms among millennials. Instagram Stories allows you to create posts and short videos that are viewable for up to 24 hours. Unlike Facebook Live videos, Instagram Stories aren’t live streaming. You can only post to your story with videos and photos you’ve already taken. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t have the same reach as live videos. Instagram Stories has more than 400 million active users every day!
Using Instagram Stories gives you the opportunity to highlight specific features of a home with bite-sized videos lasting no more than 15 seconds each. You can even customize your Story by adding GIFs, polls, text, and stickers. If you want to save posts from your Story before they disappear, IG has your back. Easily save posts to your camera roll or pin them to your profile using Instagram Story Highlights. Highlights are a great way to create branded content all Instagram users can see when they visit your page. Here are some other helpful tips on how to have a successful real estate business page on Instagram.
If you’re looking for a platform that has predominantly young adult users who watch a staggering 10 billion videos a day (don't worry, that's combined), look no further than Snapchat. Snapchat is a mobile app where users can post and watch short videos called “snaps.” 54 percent of Americans between the ages of 25-29 use Snapchat, and users open the app more than 20 times a day. Needless to say, Snapchat is where to reach young users. Learn how to start advertising on Snapchat and how to create other branded content.
Just like Instagram Stories, you are able to customize your snaps with filters, stickers, a URL link, and more. The app also allows you to mention a user, add your location, or add a topic to your snap to increase engagement and target your audience better.
If you want to go beyond digital, there are many different ways you can market to millennials besides social media.
Open houses can be boring and awkward, especially for younger prospects. Try hosting an event at a home you’re selling instead of an open house. If it’s summertime, consider throwing an outdoor barbecue at a home that has a great patio or deck. Or if it’s during the holidays, throw a Christmas party and light a fire to show off a home’s cozy den. Making an atmosphere that is casual and inviting can attract more open house attendees.
Since many millennials are first-time homebuyers, they probably have a lot of questions like “how to buy a house” or “how to apply for a loan for a house.” Millennials value personal experience and tend to rely on reviews before making a purchase. 74 percent of millennials in a survey said they wished they had help with understanding the home buying process, investors, and agents. This gives you the chance to show off your knowledge in the Real Estate industry. Create educational blog posts or videos answering these questions to boost your credibility. Having relevant and useful content linked back to your website also increases the chance of website traffic.
Like we stated before, millennials love to research and heavily rely on reviews. This means having a good reputation online is crucial. Make sure to regularly monitor your Facebook Business page, Google My Business listing, or any other platform where clients have left you reviews. Online reviews can either make or break your real estate business, so it’s important to stay on top of them. Read up on how to get more positive reviews and how to combat negative ones.
Millennials have gotten a bad rap for being irresponsible with money and rejecting homeownership. However, market data shows us that's an unhelpful stereotype. Each year, more millennials are becoming homeowners. Learning how to appeal to a quickly-emerging market will make you a more competitive real estate professional.
Chelsea helps keep the team on track with daily to-do lists and enjoys writing content for clients. Whenever she has free time, Chelsea likes managing her food blog, heading to the gym bright and early, and kayaking.How did you like this article?
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