How to Sell Real Estate to Millennials

How to Sell Real Estate to Millennials How to Sell Real Estate to Millennials There have been plenty of articles about how Millennials are a generation of renters, but they now make up 1 in 3 home buyers. Dont write them off, because they have different wants and needs than their Baby Boomer or Generation X parents. Not taking these needs into consideration when youre preparing to sell real estate would be a mistake. You may also want to sign up for a real estate prelicense training, as that can help you with strategies for dealing with things like Millennial buyers. Here are a few tips to help you sell to Millennials. Make sure the property is move-in ready Unlike the Baby Boomers, Millennials have little desire to make a home their own by painting or making other cosmetic changes. When selling to this age group, make sure your customers have put in the time and money so that Millennial buyers will consider the home to be turn-key. If you skip this step, prospective buyers will just move on to homes that are ready to go. List it online Baby Boomers and Generation X are old enough to remember driving around with their eyes peeled, trying to spot For Sale signs, or paging through newspapers and those real estate magazines you find in the grocery store. In most cases, Millennials will just do an online search. Make sure youre listing the home on sites like Zillow or HomeFinder, as well as in more traditional places. Add lots of pictures to the listing While youre at it, spend the time and money getting the photos of the property just right. Like anything else that you can buy using technology, the savviest customers are going to want lots of pictures. And they had better be good pictures. Otherwise, Millennial buyers will just move on to the house down the street that was professionally photographed, leaving you to wonder why your smartphone snaps or old polaroids arent doing the trick. Consider the layout This may not be something that is very easy to change, but Millennials are social creatures. An open concept home tends to appeal to them a lot more than a closed-off house. If theres room in the budget to open things up a bit, do it. Talk to customers about knocking down some walls, or adding on a deck that will work for parties. Help them visualize what it will be like in the house when they have friends over. Location matters Millennials are generally looking for homes with a good walking score. If your property isnt within walking distance to a downtown or some kind of shopping area, near a train station, or in a mixed-use area, definitely talk to your customer about strategies to make up for it. Dont forget technology If the home isnt already equipped with wi-fi and high bandwidth internet of some sort, talk to your sellers and get it set up as soon as possible. Millennials have a hard time picturing living in a home without connectivity for even a short period of time. If you can do something to make that worry disappear, youll be moving them in the direction of making an offer. Dont try to fool them Finally, always remember that this generation is better educated, on the whole, than the Baby Boomers and Generation X. You might feel like youre on trial and being cross-examined while they are asking questions about the property. Just make sure you always keep in mind their technology skills. This age group is going to verify nearly everything you say with a quick search on Google. Dont try to sneak one past them; 9 times out of 10, youre going to get caught, and then your home might end up online with an ugly review as the place with the lying agent/owner. Things are different than they were a generation ago. We need to adapt with the times. Ignore these warnings at your peril. Get in to a real estate prelicense training to learn all about this and other topics in full detail. Keep these things in mind when youre selling real estate to Millennials, and youll have young buyers knocking on your door in no time!