Current effects of the millennial generation

If you haven’t noticed, the entire landscape of the residential property investing marketplace has been going through a seismic shift over the last several years. Coinciding with the financial crisis that begain in 2008, demand for single family homes has plummeted. At the same time, rental prices have skyrocketed, making residential rental properties hot commodities of late.

Millennial characteristics

One of the main reasons for this is the millennial generation. They have come of age, and are taking their place in rapidly increasing numbers into the workforce. However, unlike their predecessors in the Baby Boomer and Gen X demographic models, millennials stay at home with their parents much longer, don’t feel this is a major social negative in doing so, are not fiancially prepared to obtain mortgages for their first home, and are quite scared of losing their jobs. Hence, these reasons effectively keep large numbers of them on the first-time home buying sidelines.

An increasing trend

However, statistics are now showing an increasing trend for millennials to start purchasing investment property to live in as their first home. Buying two to four family homes, and living in one of the units, allows them to offset the normal investment property expenses, pay their mortgage each month, and even create a small positive cash flow in the process. In addition, they are treated to the loophole of being able to utilize FHA and VA style mortgages, since they will be owner-occupants.  This makes obtaining a rental mortgage much easier.

Friends with benefits

Many in the millennial generation also are purchasing multifamily homes with friends to offset their costs. The millennial generation (born between 1977 and 1998) share some rather unique characteristics that make then especially suited to do this style of investment property acquisition. Generation Y characteristics include a celebration of diversity, with an overriding sense of optimism about the future. They tend to be rather inventive. And while they may be used to individualism, they consider their friends quite dear – so much so that they may equate their friends as family.

Creating their own rules

In addition they are used to creating new rules, and they are certainly well-versed in the internet and the concommitant communication style that entails, including an easy acceptance of all new technological advances. They’re excellent at multitasking, and are used to feeling nurtured. All of these characteristics make them better suited for the ability to trade off the traditional first time home buying process for the non-traditional role of first time owner-occupant-landlord.

Priced out of the current first-time home buyer market

When coupling these characteristics with the fact that, in today’s real estate market, rental prices are very high, first time home prices are also quite high, and most first time buyers are unable to afford to buy a home in an area that they would like to live in, these millennials are basically priced out of the home real estate market. But not so with the owner-occupant multi-family rental property market.

The entree into the real estate market

The average first time investment property buying millennial has never bought a home before, and sees the rental property as his entree into the home buying world, while at the same time creating an inflationary hedge in real estate. They effectively get in on the ground floor, utilizing their rental units in the process. Again, many millennials may jointly purchase an investment property spreading the costs, while also renting out other units for cash flow. Remember, they hold their friends in high esteem – and aren’t afraid to live with them in the next unit over as co-owners. This is one of the many characteristics that give generation y the ability to make these bold, new, trend-setting investment property moves.

 

photos courtesy of loyalogy.com, immersiveyouthmarketing.com, screenmediadaily.com