These millennials want to use technology to make entertainment choices easier, monitor the comings and goings of packages, repairmen and their children, and improve their health and well-being. When it comes to product choices, “they’ve read the ratings, comments and reviews, and they know what’s worth it,” and have probably created a Google alert so they know when it’s on sale, she said.
Their home improvement preferences center on home organization and workspaces, as the separation between working in an office and telecommuting continues to blur.
“This generation is searching out ideas, following bloggers,” and creating Pinterest boards with their preferences, Waage said. “They’ve already curated their dream home online, saving it on their boards so they can [be ready] when the day finally comes.”
The survey results are also important to home builders in the 55+ market, said David Peskin, president of Reverse Mortgage Funding LLC (RMF), which sponsored the NAHB study on consumer preferences. “The boomer generation is currently experiencing a transition to their next phase of life, so the home building and finance industries should commit to better understand the wants and needs of this generation to offer the best possible solutions for them,” Peskin said.
“The results of this important survey shed light on the buying preferences of older Americans, and confirm that an uneasiness over finances is one of the primary reasons they are hesitant about relocating to a new residence that better suits their needs. At RMF, we are committed to helping home owners age 62 and older meet their financial needs, so this data will be informative to the way we educate consumers about our Home Equity Conversion Mortgage for Purchase (H4P) product.”
Source: NAHB