First-time Buyers – The Industry from a Generation Y Perspective

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

In this financial environment of seemingly no winners, there is in fact one group of buyers that have an advantage: First-time homebuyers. Why? Because they have nothing to sell and plenty to gain, as sellers stress over the glut of homes on the market.

The economy continues to fluctuate so enormously that young professionals in their early to mid-twenties are apprehensive about the real estate market. What is at the core of the issue for young first-time homebuyers? A more relevant question might be what REALTORS® can do to help alleviate foreclosure fears.

Let's put ourselves in the shoes of Generation Y home buyer. I'm a 23-year-old in search of a home, I have a perspective that I have found to be relatively rare. I recognize that my generation has a great opportunity to take advantage of the tremendous surplus in real estate.

Although the credit issues facing the country may make it difficult for some to secure favorable loans, the incredible numbers of available homes, combined with falling prices, presents a near-ideal opportunity for first-time buyers to snatch up some real bargains.

Sounds great right? Unfortunately, through conversations with many friends and acquaintances in their early to mid-twenties, it doesn’t appear that many are interested in even discussing homeownership.

From what I’ve heard, this lack of excitement has a simple cause—most of my generation lacks quality information about the real estate market. Whenever the conversation arises with friends and acquaintances, I cannot help but wonder where many of my friends get their information. Very few seem to understand how the industry works or how to go about searching for a home.

This younger generation of buyers contains great potential for REALTORS®, and so I’ve come up with a few tips that I'll be discussing over the next few posts. I think these tips will be valuable, not only for understanding the fears of young buyers, but also for gaining their trust.

Tags: credit favorable loan, current real estate market, first mortgage, first-time home buyer, generation y