The tastes and preferences of young adults may seem foreign to older generations, but in terms of housing, Millennials want the same things Baby Boomers and Gen Xers did a few decades ago. They want a single-family home in the suburbs.
Realtor.com conducted an annual survey of home shoppers and found that 52 percent of buyers next year will be first-timers, and that 61 percent of that group are under age 35.
“This represents an ‘Oh, shift’ moment in housing,” says Jonathan Smoke, chief economist for Realtor.com. “With so many first-time buyers in the market, competition will be even fiercer next year for affordable starter homes in the suburbs. Those looking to buy may want to consider a winter home purchase in order to avoid bidding wars and higher prices spurred by a potential increase in millennial buyers.”
According to the survey, 39 percent of people age 25-34 preferred to buy a single-family home, and 34 percent desired a townhome (for comparison, 71 percent of people age 55-64 in the survey said they wanted a single-family home). Also, half of Millennial respondents were eying a house in either a near or outlying suburb.
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