{"id":21037,"date":"2024-03-25T07:58:00","date_gmt":"2024-03-25T12:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/?p=21037"},"modified":"2024-03-25T12:16:19","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T17:16:19","slug":"homebuying-trends-across-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/editorials\/homebuying-trends-across-generations\/","title":{"rendered":"How homebuying trends feel different across the generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Washington Post reported earlier this year<\/a> that stability was the number one trait members of Generation Z seek from prospective employers as the group continues its collective graduation into America\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stability, of course, in many ways represents one of the most attractive features of homeownership. Home is where we start families, raise children, and grow old beside those we love. These structures offer safety and comfort and one of the best possible paths toward long-term, generational wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no surprise then, given this generation\u2019s desire for permanence and security, that many Gen Zers are already pursuing their own piece of the American Dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nelson Jett, a Realtor\u00ae<\/sup> in western Nebraska, earned his real estate license just five days after his 19th<\/sup> birthday. Born in 1998, Jett falls squarely into Generation Z. His place here and his career in real estate provides a unique insight into his contemporaries\u2019 behavioral trends in the housing market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jett and his grandmother, a Realtor\u00ae<\/sup> for two and a half decades, have been their own real estate team since Jett officially earned his real estate license just a few months after his high school graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a family thing, something I always wanted to do,\u201d the now 25-year-old recounts today from his office in North Platte, Nebraska, a town of about 26,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working alongside one another for now more than five years, their priorities and practices, of course, are aligned. But the generational divides between Jett and his grandmother, 70, remain undeniable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes we view the market differently,\u201d Jett says. \u201cWe try to do everything fifty-fifty so we know each other\u2019s clients really well, and we can have different ideas when working to price a property or making other decisions. But we\u2019re also very similar in other ways, so we work well together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those contrasting viewpoints have proven to be an asset in a homebuying and selling market that has begun attracting more and more younger Americans, particularly those in Gen-Z. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Association of Realtors\u00ae<\/sup>\u2019 <\/sup>latest Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report<\/a>, released earlier this year, examined similarities and differences of consumers across various age groups. Among a host of key findings, perhaps most noteworthy is the fact that Generation Z (classified by NAR for this report as those aged 18-23) now makes up 4% of homebuyers in America. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the youngest generation of home buyers and sellers, it\u2019s encouraging to see Gen Z entering the market,\u201d NAR\u2019s Deputy Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Jessica Lautz noted when the report was released. \u201cTheir desire for homeownership is strong and many are relying on family support systems<\/a> to help them make their first real estate purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shifts already occurring as a result of this demographic\u2019s expanding presence in the market will only accelerate as the group takes additional steps toward homeownership in the coming years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t want phone calls, and they don\u2019t check their email,\u201d Jett says affably about many of his younger clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had a handful of clients about my age with whom I would go do a video or Facetime tour of the property, and they just bought the house without ever stepping foot inside,\u201d Jett recollects of experiences he\u2019s had during some of the more competitive market environments since the pandemic. \u201cA lot of our older buyers, I would say 50 and up, aren\u2019t always as comfortable with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buyers deciding to make offers on properties they haven\u2019t yet seen in person aren\u2019t uncommon in today\u2019s technology-driven environment. Jett specifically recalls two former high school classmates who have done just that. And those clients, he says, still love their homes to this day. That sometimes even surprises his grandmother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another relatively surprising revelation from the NAR report<\/a> is the fact that baby boomers once again represented the largest segment of U.S. home buyers. Millennials had been the biggest share of buyers from 2014 to 2022. Despite the group\u2019s advanced age, boomers are showing a prolonged ability to capitalize on the equity many have accumulated through decades of homeownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe majority of baby boomers are repeat buyers who have housing equity to propel them into their dream home,\u201d NAR\u2019s Lautz adds. \u201cBoomers have the upper hand in the home buying market\u2026 They are living healthier, longer lives and making housing trades at later stages.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This somewhat unique dynamic has only served to make homeownership a more challenging proposition for members of Jett\u2019s generation, particularly given existing, widespread inventory shortages plaguing markets across the country. These factors combine to make education and awareness a critical element for buyers of any age\u2014especially those who have not yet gone through the homebuying process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnyone who has not purchased a home before, it\u2019s nice to have them sit down in our office to talk them through the process,\u201d Jett says. \u201cSometimes we\u2019ll meet with Gen-Z buyers and see how much undereducation there is about homebuying in our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll explain the merits of buying over renting and the long-term wealth they are accumulating by making mortgage payments every month. It\u2019s not something that everyone gets right off the bat, especially people my age. But I can\u2019t say that I would personally know a lot about the process and the value of homeownership if I didn\u2019t have a grandmother in the business.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From his job as a real estate agent\u2014and his position, since January 2023, as a member of NAR\u2019s Young Professional Network\u2014Jett relishes the opportunity to pass along the knowledge he knows he was fortunate to have absorbed from his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn all of these roles, the most important thing is protecting and promoting the Realtor\u00ae<\/sup> brand as a whole,\u201d Jett says. \u201cThere\u2019s something to having a physical person helping you through this transaction on the other side. Getting to sit down with them\u2014whether though talk or text or phone calls\u2014is so critical.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe not phone calls. But the point stands. No matter the age of the client\u2014or the mode of communication they prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bob Goldberg is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of REALTORS\u00ae<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Gen Z enters homebuying age, a sharp contrast of traits are appearing across different generations – how can Realtors meet them halfway?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":340926,"featured_media":21040,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[254],"tags":[2597,2596,1234],"class_list":["post-21037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorials","tag-generational-gap","tag-opinion-editorial","tag-real-estate-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/08\/FamilyDinner.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/340926"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21037"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21037\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21199,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21037\/revisions\/21199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theamericangenius.com\/housing\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}