While more households are renting than at any other time in history, millennials have become adult investors now buying homes. If you’re not prepared to meet the needs of this growing market, you’ll fall behind. Millennial home buying trends are an extension of the trends we saw when Generation X started buying homes and is sure to change as Generation Z grows up.

Here are four tips to ensure that you’re ahead of the changes to come.

1. They’ve Got Knowledge

More than any other generation before them, millennial homebuyers come to the viewing with more information than ever before. They’ll show up knowing about what renovations the home might need or which repairs to watch out for. They’ll also be keen to the real estate process, so they’ll be ready for any curveballs.

Your best bet is to be straightforward with the next generation of homebuyers.

They’ve grown up with both the internet showing them how to do just about anything via YouTube tutorials and with HGTV glamorizing renovation. The era of tech and research gives them quick and direct access to lots of important information on listings and neighborhood information. Even if they don’t know how to decode the information that they see online, they’ll be able to ask you important questions.

This doesn’t mean that you’ll be dealing with a whole bunch of know-it-alls so much as you’ll be expected to answer more questions. When they find out certain information about a neighborhood or a building, they’ll want to know what it means. As an agent or a Realtor®, you should also expect to share neighborhood developments and market forecasts with them.

2. Rates Are Increasing

As millennial homebuyers are a fast-growing segment of the population, they’re increasing to soon make up half of all buyers. With baby boomers tapering off and Generation X peaking, it’s clear that there’s a new generation of buyers in town. However, most of the marketing efforts that the market relies on are fixated on patterns and efforts forged by previous generations.

Buying a home is a challenging prospect for millennials, with the difficulties they face in paying off student debt and moving up the economic ladder. With this, the number of mid-priced homes on the market is increasing to meet their needs. If you’re trying to market to millennials, you’ll struggle to sell them on properties that are luxurious or are tricked out with amenities.

The housing needs of millennials are much different than the needs of previous generations. Both the people in the construction industry and the number of Realtors® and real estate professionals out there need to learn how this impacts them. Without meeting their needs, they’re going to remain renters for longer.

3. No Stranger to Sweat Equity

As mentioned above, millennials grew up with renovation shows and DIY videos popping up all over the internet. While we live in a throwaway culture, there’s been a thread of reactionary efforts that have turned into a whole industry of teaching people how to fix things. With the comfort millennials have with this idea, expect them to be fine with a fixer-upper.

So-called “sweat equity” is how much buyers are willing to save in exchange for working on their new home. Homebuyers are aware of the potential costs and the work involved with a new home. Buying something that needs a little work is fine with them and they’d rather pay less and put in the time.

As interest rates go up, buyers are going to want to save money and spend less on a new home. They’ll instead opt for a home that needs a little love and care to get it where they want it to be. With millennials’ appreciation for customization, it’s no wonder that they’re perfectly happy with a summer’s worth of repair in exchange for saving some money.

It’s likely that they’d want to have made the home their own anyhow.

4. Buying Strategies Have Changed

The way that you market to millennials needs to be using a language their comfortable with. While not every single millennial lives their life online, many of them are comfortable browsing and shopping for things online. Even those who don’t like to purchase products online still do their research.

That means that if you’re not showing off information about your properties on social media, you’re missing an opportunity for a captive audience. The sidebar of social media sites or videos embedded in their feeds now gives them information about any number of products and services. Even dating apps now sell ads that target a millennial audience by the very fact that you have their attention.

With social media sites like Instagram heavily favoring visual content, this is the perfect opportunity to show off the kinds of images and videos you have. If you’re taking videos of properties and offering virtual walkthroughs, share them with your social media audience.  When you showcase a home on social media, you get the chance to appeal to millennials on a platform they respect.

You need to be a service when closing on a property in the modern era. It’s important for you to ask for a yes without pressuring millennial audiences. They know that a better option could be a swipe away, so make sure you cater to their wants and needs before asking for their commitment. Check out this page for more quick tips on how to market to millennials.

Millennial Home Buying Trends Require Creative Thinking

If you’re you’re not prepared to think more creatively about the way that you market to your audience, you’re not prepared for millennials. Millennial home buying trends are changing the face of the industry and you need to stay one step ahead to succeed at marketing to them.

If you’re not prepared to do it yet, use our guide to make sure you know how to answer the questions clients have about installing a new roof.