Luxury Home Selling: How to Appeal to Millennial Buyers
If you find your dream home on our annual Artisan Home Tour, (opening today, don’t miss the one above, #14 by Wooddale Builders in Edina), and you need to sell your current home, here are some great tips to help reach the elusive Millennial (yes, there are Millennials who can afford your custom home) from our guest blogger, Kris Lindahl.
The luxury real estate market has seen an uptick in inventory across the nation while prices softened during 2016. This situation is spurring sellers to seek out the advice of real estate agents to make their homes stand out from others in their respective neighborhoods as they hope to get the maximum sales price.
One unique obstacle that sellers are facing is trying to make their properties appealing to the next generation of buyers: millennials.
With the millennial generation being 30 percent larger than Generation X, these young adults are changing the way real estate marketing is done. Capturing their interests to spur them into purchasing luxury homes differs from other types of real estate. Luxury home buyers often take their time to find the best property that fits into their current and future lifestyles.
A Slightly Different Approach
One of the best things about the millennial generation is that many renters are eager to jump into the home buying market. Setting up your custom luxury property to target this generation requires a new perspective into what appeals to this generation and how they process real estate information when deciding on a home purchase.
Here are several tips you can use to market your home that will bring millennials to the open house and make an offer:
Being Move-In Ready is Important
Millennial move-in ready might mean sprucing up the bathroom with a trendy, bold print wallpaper, like in this Artisan bath at #9 by John Kraemer & Sons.
Millennials are straying from the “fixer-upper” mentality that suited baby boomers and generation X. Today, this group wants a home that is move-in ready, especially for a luxury home that can potentially cost them several millions in dollars at the closing table. They want the most they can get out of the house and the deal. You will need to provide the ultimate living environment that fits their desires. Your custom home needs to be in the pristine condition of when it was first built, or at least only require few changes upon moving in.
Focus Home Improvements on Living Preferences
If you do plan to renovate your custom home, think about what attracts millennials when they are house hunting. Three of the top must-haves include open floor plans for socialization, technology-rich amenities, and environmentally-friendly building materials. Having a luxury home that is tailored to these preferences can allow you to market it to a wider audience to bring in the most interested buyers.
Create Buyer Profiles
You have a custom luxury home with a specific set of features that worked well with your lifestyle. The hardest part of marketing a custom home is finding a buyer who wants to enjoy these same features. A buyer profile allows you to really look at your home from a more unbiased position. Then you can create a buyer demographic that will allow you to better advertise your home.
This profile not only takes into account the features of the custom luxury home, but also the location, lot size, and accessibility to neighborhood amenities. With this information, you can further understand the type of buyer who would most like the space as well as help you develop the right asking price for the home.
Market Where They Congregate
When it comes to the millennial generation, technology is king. They gain information through social media and other online content sources much more than any other generation at the moment. You should not skip over these places with your marketing efforts. These efforts should show the millennial buyer how their needs can be fulfilled by your custom luxury home. With the help of your real estate agent you will be able to successfully utilize the right marketing channels and find a buyer who is interested in your home.
Trying to sell a luxury home to millennial buyers can introduce a wide range of challenges to home sellers, but it is certainly possible. Working with a real estate agent who is well-versed in the luxury market can help position your home to bring in the appropriate offers. Their connections and experience often prove to be invaluable to sellers looking to move quickly and get a great value from the sale.
Kris Lindahl is a Minnesota native and owner of The Kris Lindahl Team with RE/MAX Results.