Millennial Real Estate Tips
GDW Welcome back to The Real Deal In Real Estate. Today we’re going to discuss real estate realities, especially for the millennials out there. I’m here with our Real Deal team, Josh Greene of Eastern Title and Settlement. We also have Dana Rice from Compass Real Estate, and Chong Yi of The Yi Team at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp.
Welcome! Dana, great to have you here. Guys, welcome back. Dana, I’ll start with you. We talked about millennials. What is the trend that you’re seeing amongst this upcoming generation?
DANA Mainly it’s been the emphasis of being close to amenities, being close to downtown vitality, and all sorts of restaurants and things. As people get older, it happens, they’re looking for more space, more closet space, maybe a yard or something. So that’s really the trend. It’s opening and expanding the net that they’re casting, in terms of what they’re interested in.
GDW Are you seeing that millennials are more hesitant when it comes to making that big of a purchase?
DANA Well, it is a process that is a little bit intimidating, because the rules of engagement in every market place. Right now we’re in a very hot market in DC. And as we all know, if you don’t know exactly how to engage you’re going to miss out on opportunities. In terms of being afraid, I don’t think millennials are afraid. I think they’re learning a little bit more about the process themselves.
GDW It’s not an instant gratification kind of world in real estate, like it is in social media.
JOSH You know a lot of millennials are transactional. Real estate really isn’t transactional, it’s relationship driven. So it really matters that your real estate agent knows the market place, the neighborhood, your loan officer. Maybe the agent knows the loan officer and knows he’s a good loan officer and is going to accept that contract, compared to this other loan officer they might not know, and the title company. So it really depends on your team and not pressing a button and saying “hey look, we just found this home. Let’s go make an offer without even talking to an agent”.
CHONG Being a millennial myself…
GDW Haha, Oh, yeah.
CHONG Because I’m “at that age”, I can understand that apprehension. In some cases a lot of them grew up with their parents during the 2008 era. Some of them are scared that something like that can happen again. I look at it in terms of an investment standpoint. People think of getting a mortgage and buying a house as adding on debt. In my opinion it’s actually gaining an asset.
GDW I like that.
CHONG Where else are you going to buy a home for 5%, a $500,000 property for $25,000 out of pocket? If you buy $500,000 in Apple stock you have to have $500,000 to do so.
GDW That’s a great way to look at it.
CHONG You have to live somewhere and pay rent, so why not pay yourself rent?
GDW True, that’s what my dad always said. Stop paying the other person, pay yourself.
ALL That’s true, that’s true.
GDW Now, when it comes to the homes that are out there that want to attract these millenial buyers, Dana, what are some ways to really get the millennials interested in these older homes?
DANA Sure. There’s a real inventory crisis right now. There’s not a lot of inventory. Even though it’s a hot market and we’re very busy, what it’s coming down to is there just isn’t enough inventory for these buyers. That doesn’t mean that you can just put your house on the market. In terms of attracting the buyers, it’s more of a respect. The buyers are judging you as soon as they walk through the door. Everybody watches the tv shows. Everyone is thinking: did they stage? Did they clean up? Did they remove their personal photos? In terms of what’s happening and how to prepare, I would say the first thing, before you do anything, is engage with an agent. And I know because I’m an agent. But it really can matter because you can work with someone a year in advance and do small things. If you’re doing it alone you may end up doing something with your property that actually ends up harming you in the end. We have this knowledge, its free. Let us give it to you.
GDW And you say too, when it comes to the homes. Once a home has hit online, you’re pretty much…
DANA It’s almost too late. At this point, with all of our clients, one of the things I like to say is, you don’t even know what you don’t know yet. If you’re waiting for it to show up, or you’re sitting at lunch and you’re just scrolling through pictures, it’s over. The most important thing is recognize that in this competitive marketplace you need any sort of advantage. Time is an advantage, and information is an advantage.
GDW And a great team is an advantage.
JOSH And it has to be Instagram ready, Dana was telling me earlier.
DANA Yeah, definitely check out Instagram.
GDW It has to look good, so the buyer can see themselves living there. So, Josh, Dana, Chong, thank you guys so very much. If you’re looking for a new home, go to the www.theRealDealDMV.com, or call 240-422-8871 and get that competitive advantage. Call now to get free advice and millennial real estate tips.
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