The business has always been about markets. Without a market, how would you be able to grow a business? It sounds simple. But the reality, of course, isn’t as clear-cut. Certainly, it’s not etched in stone.
Take, for instance, the rise and fall of Nokia. It’s hard to comprehend how a company that had so much control of the market can fall so precipitously from its throne as a leader?
In 2017, Nokia had a 49.4% share of the global mobile phone market. Then, out of the blue that same year, a man named Steve Jobs walked to a stage to pull an iPhone out of his pocket. Experts believe that moment was the final straw that broke the camel’s back for Nokia. From that moment forward, sales for the European giant dropped like a crashed plane out of the sky. Till one day, it had to sell the business to Microsoft.
The same holds true for real estate. You need to be in the know of the movers and shakers of your market. If not, you could be left behind like a Nokia of the past.
Today, you’d be putting yourself in a largely disadvantageous position in your real estate business if you forget about millennials. Other people may see these digital natives as nothing but trouble. Truth be told, they’re the biggest market on the planet. And they’re hungry for properties.
Millennials are Coming of Age
Don’t look now, but millennials are a force to reckon with. Why? It’s simple actually. They’re the largest generation group today. Born in the years between 1981 and 1996, they comprise 72.17 million in 2019. That’s a lot more than their parents, the Baby Boomers generation (1928 – 1945), or for that matter the Generation X (1965 – 1980).
And yes, millennials are moneyed. Many of them just graduated from college and snapped a career just when the Great Recession hit. So when the economy opened up after a beating, these young people were well-entrenched. They started to get better-paying jobs and better paychecks.
Ultimately, many of these millennials decided to marry. And as any real estate entrepreneur worth his name in salt would tell you, marriage is the #1 indicator of someone buying a home. Thus, when someone ties the knot, one of the key things he’s bound to look into is houses for sale. Properties that are of good location and ready to move in to are definitely top of his mind.
The Merits of Buying as Rents Skyrocket
Then, there’s the case for rents. Call it the needed push. As rents skyrocket, the tendency to look into owning your own property becomes more pronounced. Driven largely by the virus problem, many rentals are growing by double-digits. Worse, this is happening in smaller cities where people have been flocking after the pandemic hit town.
And it’s just logical. Rising rents are throwing a lot of weight in the direction of owning your own property. It’s creating an increasing demand for real estate.
In a way, this has a lot to do with job opportunities. As millennials flock to major cities, their need to find a good place to rent materializes. However, the demand can’t cope up with the supply. Take San Francisco. In this decade alone, there were six times more jobs available for the taking than housing units being built. So, the end result? You have rising rental prices.
Taking the Real Estate Advantage
As knowledgeable as these digital natives are, millennials know a lot about investing, perhaps more than most people. You can’t take away the internet from these guys. They’re always online. And that has made them, to a large degree, investment savvy.
Many millennial influencers are touting real estate investments as the way to go. It’s a lot safer than going into the stock market. A good example is the Financial Samurai, a financial expert popular with millennials. The online guru advocates for real estate as a better option compared to investing in stocks.
Stocks, for one, are largely an intangible asset. And it’s not as quantifiable as real estate is. When you invest in a property, you are in a better position to physically inspect it. And use it as you please.
Indeed, such a physical connection appeals well to the millennial demographic. As noted, these young ones are image-oriented and visually-minded.
Before, the large cash needed to pay a down payment can be a huge stumbling block when investing in a property. But you’ve got real estate investment platforms online now, that supports millennials. From the look of it, millennials are definitely leading the charge in the real estate market. All you need is to satisfy this market and you should be good to go.
