Home Buying Trends: What to Know About Millennials
LOUISIANA REALTORS • May 30, 2018
Generational changes influence just about every aspect of any market. From the way that information is consumed to style preferences and beyond. This fact is evident in the growth of Millennial home buyers. A Millennial
is anyone born between 1981 and 1996; making the youngest of this generation 22 in 2018. For the fifth consecutive year, this generation is the largest and most active group of home buyers in the United States. 36% of home buyers fall into the age range, with 65% of them being first-time home buyers. The opportunity for REALTORS® to leverage this emerging population is great. Here are a few trends that can help you understand and market to these prospective clients.
Have a Digital Presence
While this is important to reach Millennial buyers, this needs to be a priority for reaching any prospective buyers. Over 74% of buyers from all generations use the internet
for research and shopping.
Be Prepared to Guide During Each Step
With the majority of this group being first-time homebuyers, many will want a REALTOR® that can and will help them navigate the different challenges of buying home. Determining what kind of house they can afford, mortgage types, negotiating, and more will be very important. Research also shows that 69% of Millennial homebuyers would use their same agent again, so referral and return business opportunity is also there.
Appearance is Important
Offering a visual experience can be vital in the home shopping experience. Social media platforms like Instagram and Snap Chat are great places to be present from a marketing standpoint, they also speak to the importance of a prospective buyer’s ability to visualize themselves in a home. 41% of young homebuyers prefer homes that are staged.
CONTACT US
While these are only a few trends and statistics about the growing Millennial home buying market, they provide an insight into how people are shopping for homes.
Week three of the Regular Session kept real estate issues in the conversation, even as lawmakers continued to focus heavily on workforce, tax and insurance policy. On the property tax front, measures to reshape assessments and exemptions, including proposals for a new blight rehabilitation exemption and additional relief for seniors, remain parked in the House Ways and Means Committee as stakeholders work through fiscal and local government concerns. These bills matter because they will influence long-term carrying costs, redevelopment incentives and how tax burdens are shared across residential and commercial property. Homestead related legislation, including parish level authority to increase the exemption amount, is also in the queue, signaling that the broader structure of Louisiana’s homestead system is officially on the table, not just the dollar figure. For homeowners and buyers, this debate goes directly to affordability. For local governments, it raises revenue stability and service delivery questions. There also has been movement on several identical pieces of legislation that would instruct parish assessors to develop a process for homeowners to permanently register for the homestead exemption for the duration that they own and live on the property. We are actively tracking legislation that will directly shape how investor activity and non-traditional transactions are recognized and regulated in Louisiana’s real estate market. This includes HB 468 by Troy Hebert , a key component of the Louisiana REALTORS® legislative package that targets the wholesale of residential real estate, which was heard in the House Commerce Committee on Monday. The bill is currently positioned for a floor vote early next week. As drafted, HB 468 represents a major step in the right direction for consumer protection in Louisiana, advancing needed guardrails through potential disclosure, registration, and practice standards that could redefine how assignment contracts and “off-market” transactions intersect with licensed brokerage activity. In parallel, HB 292 by Delisha Boyd passed the House on final reading, 86-3, and is on its way to the Senate. Together, these measures represent a coordinated policy effort to bring greater structure and transparency to emerging transaction models, while preserving the integrity of the traditional brokerage framework. Finally, the broader policy backdrop remains important: the Governor continues to push income tax changes and cost of living relief, while business and industry groups are prioritizing insurance, workforce and energy — each a key driver of long run housing demand and investment. As these debates evolve, we’ll keep you updated on what moves, what stalls and what it all means for your clients, your pipeline and private property rights across Louisiana. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.
Tax Questions & Updates for 2026 Webinar Recording Now Available
NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide that explains the concept of home staging, offers DIY staging tips and missteps and shares the latest NAR member sentiment on how staging can help buyers better visualize the property as their future home and potentially net sellers a higher price. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thinking of Selling? 7 Factors to Consider How to Make Your Home More Energy Efficient Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which discusses home mortgage options that allow buyers to fold in renovation costs.
