According to the National Association of REALTORS®Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends study, millennials make up the largest percent of recent buyers. Thirty-two percent of all buyers in the past year have been 34 or younger.
While the majority of millennials used the Internet as a source to find the home they purchased, 90 percent also used an agent. The quality of the neighborhood and convenience to jobs were the biggest factors in location choice for millennial buyers.
Interestingly, while baby boomers who are purchasing homes plan to stay there for a median of 18 years, millennials guess that they will only live in their new homes for 10 years.
Out of all buyers, 88% had to finance their homes. While younger buyers who financed their home purchase used their savings for down payments, older buyers often used the proceeds from their previous homes.
In terms of selling, 60% of sellers used an agent that they found through a referral or used an agent they had used previously. Older generations who are selling now either wanted to sell previously but couldn’t because their mortgages were more than their homes were worth, or are looking to downsize. Millennials who are currently selling most likely do so because they need a larger home or because of job relocation.