If you know anyone who is a millennial (or if you are on yourself) you know that all millennials are both young and adults at the same time. Millennials are considered anyone who is born in the years 1981-1996.
Many millennials are at an age where they are getting married and wanting to start a family. This means that most millennials are around the age they have recently purchased or are thinking about buying their first home.
However, millennials can be tricky customers for real estate agents to tackle. For starters, millennials have unique buying habits that are different than past generations. A big part of the shift in buying habits is a result of high student loan debt as well as the cost of the rent.
Additionally, how a person (and more so a millennial) finds their real estate agent is different than it was ten+ years ago. Technology has opened the door to new ways to connect and find people-whether it be for home buying purposes or otherwise.
If you are a real estate agent and are looking to work with millennials, they are excellent candidates for first-time home buyers. Here are some tips as well as trends that will help you establish a good relationship with the millennial generation.
Top Tips When Working With Millennial Clients:
Millennials are constantly online. Therefore it seems logical enough that a millennial such as myself would look for a real estate agent by going to Google and typing the proper keywords.
I remember house hunting for my first house five years ago and we found our real estate agent by going online. I understand that word-of-mouth is still a good way to gain access to new clients, but finding a real estate agent online is a growing way to connect with an agent, especially as the younger generations are buying their first homes.
This tip seems obvious enough but it’s the most important tip if you wanna get business from millennial homebuyers. Most millennials find almost EVERYTHING they need online, whether it be looking for houses or cars or even relationships.
It shows that you will need an online presence if you want to connect with anyone in the millennial generation or younger.
Here are some tips to create a strong online presence:
Create a Facebook page for your business- Facebook has almost 3 billion users, many of which who are millennials. Your millennial reach will be much larger if you create a Facebook business page.
Advertise on social media channels- As we just mentioned, Facebook has billions of users. Advertising on Facebook as well as other popular social media channels is a great way to reach targeted clients.
Advertise on Google- Google is a great place to advertise because you can use Google to target your millennial clients who are searching for real estate agents in your area. With Google Ads, you can target the exact clientele that you are looking to work with by having your ad pop up for targeted keywords, such as "Real Estate Agent in Minneapolis, MN".
Have your own website- Millenials appreciate an online address as much as a physical one. Having your own website is a convenient way for your millennial clients to view your real estate as well as contact you. Just make sure when you build your website that it is fast and has a sleek design. A slow, outdated website will turn your millennial clients away faster than if you didn't have one at all.
I am a millennial myself I know first-hand that most millennials have short attention spans.
The average attention span of an adult lasts 8 seconds, (shorter than the attention span of a goldfish). That is four seconds shorter than that measured in the year 2000. Source: Time
If we measured the average attention span of a MILLENIAL, it might be even a second or two shorter.
I’m not insulting anyone’s intelligence here. This tip is coming from me, a millennial.
If you have a millennial client you need to keep them engaged. Ask them questions about what they think when looking at a home or talk about exciting things that the home has when on the phone.
You can also ask them about their life and what they are doing as I’ve noticed most of my millennial peers (and myself) are used to and absolutely love sharing. Just don’t be surprised if your millennial client opens up a little TOO much to you, we are the Instagram generation so not much is private anymore.
Additionally, don’t feel too worried when your millennial client is looking at their phone while going on a tour.
They are also probably still listening. Again, keep your client engaged by asking he/her questions and make sure to consistently share about the house.
As I discussed briefly at the beginning of the article, high student loan debt, as well as skyrocketing rent prices, make it hard for millennials to buy and save up for a new home.
Millennials are also more cautious than you think when it comes to buying real estate. The majority of millennials spend less than 30% of their income on housing costs. Source: USA TODAY
The best way that you can attract new clients and buyers is by hosting open house events instead of just plain and boring open houses. Open houses can often be stiff, uncomfortable, and even lame. Sometimes you need more than a candy dish to make people comfortable.
One way to make an open house unique is to throw an event at every house you are selling. You can have a DJ or even a BBQ. Events can push potential clients to your social media pages as well.
The most important thing is to ensure that everyone is having fun, happy, and comfortable at your open house. If you don’t feel comfortable with hosting an event, you can do other things. For example, millennials like unique things or shopping locally. You could have goodies from local shops in the area to give guests at your open house. You can Facebook live stream your open house. There are so many ways to spice up your open house.
One thing that millennials (and anyone, really) appreciate is simplicity. Millennials are busy and don’t want to waste their time with realtors that don’t do their research.
It is perfectly acceptable to text your millennial clients unless they specifically state that they prefer phone calls. Millennials expect minimal hassle.
Being successful with the younger crowd is all about making the experience as easy as possible. Make your website easy to navigate, making it easy for anyone to get a hold of you via email or phone call.
Buying a first home is a big deal!
Because of that, you don’t want to mess with a person’s first time buying a home. A millennial client is a potential lifetime client, they are more than likely going to purchase more than one home.
Keeping this in mind, follow the above tips when working with and trying to pursue millennial clients. Make sure that you are an exciting but trustworthy and knowledgeable agent and they could work with you again in the future.