What Do Millennials Want In A Home?

When it comes to buying a home, it’s safe to say that many millennials are caught in a catch-22.

Even though more millennials associate buying a home with the “American Dream” than any other generation, the homeownership rate for Americans under age 35 is near record lows at just 34.7%. In other words, millennials seem to want to buy homes, but various factors have been preventing them in doing so.

Waiting until later in life to start families is one commonly-cited aspect of the story, but millennials are also saddled with student debt and low wages, which have prevented from from amassing any significant savings.

Despite these factors, the demographic evidence is compelling – and many experts are expecting a shift in millennial buying behavior in the coming years.

What Millennials Want in a Home

As the real estate sector becomes more focused on millennials, the market is keying in on an important question: what do millennials want in a home?

Today’s infographic from Northshore Fireplace has an interesting methodology to help us get started in thinking about this question. In late 2016, they commissioned a unique study on 1,000 millennials, representative of all 50 states, in which respondents played a hypothetical game.

Each prospective buyer was put in the following situation: they are starting with an average American home (20+ years old, three bedrooms, and two baths), but have a $300,000 budget to choose between 38 hypothetical property upgrades to get them closer to the home of their dreams.

The Survey Is In!