The target buyer of the NEXTadventure home is 55-plus years old, otherwise known as a baby boomer. To target this demographic is normal, marketers have been doing so for a generation; however, it is a massive group with an incredibly varied make up. This was, after all, the peace and love generation, which morphed into the ‘me’ generation, many spurning the rock and roll they grew up with for disco, and then twice elected Ronald Reagan. Four years after Reagan left office, it elected Bill Clinton. It raised the millennials, caused explosive growth in the suburbs after being mistakenly identified with a desire to live in cities. One could use the word fickle to describe this group, but that would be simplistic. It always was, and continues to be, a mistake to treat this group as a monolithic whole. It is instead a mass of moving parts that generally, though not always, moves in a similar general direction.
More than 10,000 boomers are retiring every day. They are more prosperous than ever before, they have different values, expectations and desires. Who are they? Where will they go and how will you market to them?
Data from US Census data shows the demographic difference of the 55-plus cohort, which is dramatically different from the millennial generation. Among those 55-plus, whites represent 62 percent of the group; among millennials, that number is 56 percent. The remaining 38 percent is broken into 16 percent Hispanic, 13 percent black, 5 percent Asian and 4 percent other.
For our NEXTadventure insights project, we are finalizing research on the features that these buyers want in their homes. We will share that soon, so check back often. Plus, the research will include insights into why these buyers may relocate – what is their incentive? With that in mind, let’s take a look at the most popular places they are landing.
These metroplexes show the highest percentage of 55-plus deeds as a percentage of total deed transactions, which shows that the NEXTadventure crowd isn’t seeking adventure in the central beltline.
