Home Buying Habits of Millennials

New research from the National Association of Home Builders points to the home buying habits of millennials, the children of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers born between 1981 and 1996. According to the data, this age group tends toward purchasing homes that are older, smaller and less expensive than homes bought by older generations.

As the youngest group of buyers in the market with very little to possibly no accumulation of wealth, most millennials who buy homes are buying for the first time in their lives. In fact, three out of four millennials who bought a home in 2014 were first-time buyers, while the remaining quarter traded in their current home.

The research also shows that less than nine percent of millennials purchased a new home in the past year, while 12 percent of older home buyers bought brand new homes. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of millennial home buyers purchased single-family detached properties. Still, the millennial generation showed a slightly higher preference for multifamily condominiums than older home buyers. Almost nine percent of millennial buyers purchased a multifamily property while less than six percent of older home buyers fell into this category.

Read the full article from NAHB here.