I was recently involved in a real estate class and I noticed the ages of the attendees, from 18 years old to 70 years old, and I thought about how the different generations communicate and absorb information. For a refresher, here is the quick break down of the generations that attended the class that day: Baby Boomers - 56 years old to 76 years old, Gen X - 41 years old to 55 years old, Gen Y - 26 years old to 40 years old and finally Gen Z - 5 years old to 25 years old. I want to focus on Gen Y, the 26 years old to 40, in today’s article.
In my last article, “Shifting Population Due to Working Remotely,” I wrote about the number of Gen Ys that will have the opportunity to relocate because of tech companies switching to permanently working remotely. Let’s do a deeper dive into what makes up Gen Y. First we can break the group down into two groups: Gen Y.1, which is 25 years old to 29 years old, and Gen Y.2, which is 30 years old to 40 years old. We can include both for some general conversation and will do a deeper dive on Gen Y.1 shortly for a reason.
There are about 95 million Gen Y in this country and they have different habits and beliefs than the other generational groups. 95% still watch TV (Netflix is their choice for TV), 32% do online purchasing and have multiple social media accounts. They have less brand loyalty than other groups; many in the past have delayed major purchases and lifestyle changes like weddings and buying a home, BUT on the positive side, they want a partner to help them with large purchases like a home. This group also lacks patience and doesn’t respond well when given poor service.
When it comes to income some in this group are making crazy money, while others not so much, but they also have a plan. First the true tech geeks in this group can knock down around $250,000 annually. As for the others, household income can be over $70,000 due to both members of the household working. Once student loan debt is paid off, home buying is placed before things like getting married and starting a family.
Many of us use Facebook as the go-to social media platform, but for Gen Ys they are drawn more to visual platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram. Actually, Facebook usage drops with each younger generation where Snapchat is the most used in this group, with almost three quarters of Gen Ys using it 6 or more times a day.
Here’s the challenge: many Gen Y.1s making unbelievable money in tech can now live anywhere and work remotely, the average agent is 53 years old, and these first-time homebuyers who depend on a partner are 26 years old to 29 years old. Normal ways we attract and communicate in the past just won’t work. I personally have picked up a client from Snapchat and was very surprised when she reached out to me.
The things that stood out the most as I was researching this article was many younger first time home buyers are visual, demand good service and what information they want, they want it now!
