Welcome to the property market, millennials

A new wave of property owners and investors are moving through, with millennials looking to make their mark on the property market. If you’re a current landlord, or currently selling your home, there’s a good chance you may be renting or selling your property to a millennial.

Sometimes referred to as ‘generation rent,’ a millennial is generally someone in their mid-20’s to mid30’s. Unlike previous generations who were eager to buy their own home at a relatively young age, millennials have appeared to be ‘uninterested’ in home ownership.

There could be many reasons for this.

Lifestyle choices for many millennials include periods of overseas travel and employment. Even when remaining in their home country, they accept that a chosen career may require significant relocation, and on more than one occasion.

While not opposed to the idea of settling in one place, and the possibility of marriage and children, they may consider such paths are for exploring later in life.

Concerns about job security, cost of living and repayment of study loans may also impact on a millennial’s willingness to enter the property market.

Saving an adequate deposit can also be a real challenge with so many competing priorities.

Some say that ‘home ownership’ equates with ‘settling down’, which certain millennials believe they are not ready to do. Another suggestion is that they purposefully place themselves in a long-term saving mode because of a property type and location in mind.

Despite all these headwinds, there is a growing evidence of millennials now seeking to join the ranks of property owners.

The rate of millennial buyers has increased in recent years. But, not only are they buying their first home. Upsizing their homes, investing in property and moving to purchase in new locations are generally on the increase.

Recent mortgage data has found that female millennials are amongst the fastest growing sector of homeowners.

For first home buyers, the current first home-owner grant is a big incentive to get into the market.

There has also been evidence of a shift, with young buyers looking to start their property portfolio earlier and strategically thinking about property purchases with the intention of setting themselves up long term, even for retirement. They don’t

A few research-based suggestions about millennials buying property to live in themselves: • Family homes with green spaces are in. Trendy inner-city pads are out. • They want space to host friends and family. • They want homes with energy efficient features and integrated home technology. • They are more likely to own pets than older generations. • They have surprisingly traditional homeownership aspirations. Their challenge is not in wanting a home, but how they go about getting it. • They are willing to cut back on luxuries and delay major life events. • They use online listing services but they still value human interaction, with real estate agents playing a pivotal role.

necessarily look to buy in the market where they are living. There is a lot of interest in buying property for the sole purpose of renting it out. Buyers in general are recognising now is a good time to buy with low interest rates. A cooling of house prices and less competition from overseas buyers are also good indicators. Of course, home ownership is not on everyone’s agenda, with plenty of people – in every generation – choosing to rent for longer. But with an increasing interest from millennial buyers, the first home owners of today may very well provide the growing swell of new landlords tomorrow.

One thing is for certain, the millennials have property markets in their sights.