As a homebuilder, you’ve probably begun to realize that the millennial generation (also known as gen Y) shops for homes differently and that more than any other generation, they look for quality materials when making a purchase. But did you know that they make up the majority of today’s homebuyers?
According to the National Association of Realtors® in its “2016 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report,” millennials (currently aged 18 to 35) made up the largest share of homebuyers last year at 35 percent. This is a 3 percentage point increase compared to the previous year and represents an ongoing trend that is projected to grow rapidly.
In this same report, it was noted that 46 percent of millennials purchased newly constructed homes to avoid renovations and problems. Another interesting finding was that heating and cooling costs were the most important environmental features for 33 percent of them.
Clearly, millennials want to purchase homes with high-quality, eco-friendly products and energy-efficient materials—down to details like house wrap and weatherization systems.
What does this mean to your homebuilding company? One, the products you use in your homes matter to millennials. Two, you have to actively market those materials to win these homebuyers.
But marketing to millennials may require you to do things differently than you have in the past. That’s because millennials prefer to heavily research products using expert online sources. According to a 2014 Nielsen report on the role of content in the consumer decision-making process, consumers rely on “expert content” over “branded content” in each category studied—purchase consideration, affinity and familiarity.
This gives your homebuilding company a golden opportunity to educate and influence this fasting growing sector of homebuyers through the use of expert blogs, e-newsletters and a strong social media presence. Sharing your knowledge and insights about the high-quality and energy-efficient products you use in home construction can help engage and educate millennial homebuyers and position your company as being able to deliver what they demand.
Topics can include everything from fixtures and flooring to exterior facades and so much more. Take house wrap for example. DuPont™ Tyvek® HomeWrap®, the house wrap brand rated number one for the last 19 years by readers of this e-magazine, is a brand that you can rely on to help influence homebuyers.
According to the 2014 Home Innovation Research Labs Consumer Omnibus Survey, Tyvek® products have the highest name recognition among recent and future homebuyers when asked unaided to name a house wrap brand. Focusing on products with high brand name recognition can be a great way to increase readership of your blogs and gain more followers on social media.
When marketing to millennials, remember that they want to be engaged and involved in researching their choices and they seek expert advice online. They want the best products and they want those products to come from companies that care about and share their generation’s values.
