5 Surprising Facts About Millennial Home Buyers

By Maggie Winterfeldt
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Millennials, Generation Y, the Net Generation, whatever you want to refer to them as, the group of consumers who came of age around Y2K are now an important part of the real estate market, and the industry is anxious to know what makes this unique group of social-media-loving, tech-savvy consumers tick.

A new survey conducted by Pardee Homes and Builder Magazine in association with the Responsive Home project, has discovered five surprising findings about millennium home buyers. Learn what they are below.

  • The biggest driving factor to purchase a home for millennials is the desire to have more outdoor space — trumping both financial and emotional readiness for homeownership.
  • More than half of millennials surveyed are eager for a suburban lifestyle.
  • Urban benefits of being within walking distance to parks, grocery stores, schools, and work remain a high priority.
  • Seventy-one percent of millennials surveyed place personalization among important home features.
  • There is a growing interest among millennials to use their home as a source of income — 35 percent of those surveyed agreed that they would likely rent out a space in their home to generate income.
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