If you're thinking of putting your home on the market in the near future, you may not be aware that the millennial generation now makes up the largest part of today's real estate buyers' market, and the vast majority of these potential buyers will be first-time homeowners. First time homeowners are generally looking for different things in a home than their older counterparts. Following are just four ways that you can make your home more attractive to young people who are just beginning their adventure with home ownership.
Upgraded Bathrooms and Kitchens
First-time homeowners are usually working with limited financing, and this means that they aren't crazy about the idea of paying for updates of standard household fixtures -- unlike retirees and members of the baby boomer generation, who often welcome the opportunity customize a home to meet their personal needs and preferences. But because most millennials haven't amassed a great deal of furniture, appliances, and general household goods, they're going to need what's left of their savings after making the down payment to pay for these items. You can make your home more attractive to millennial buyers by replacing worn bathroom and kitchen fixtures prior to putting your home on the market.
Home Offices
Modern technology has made it possible for a significant amount of those in today's workforce to perform their employment obligations from home, and a designated home office is something they find appealing. If your home doesn't have a home office, consider adding a couple of built-in desks with charging stations in a spare bedroom.
Open Floor Plans
The majority of young homebuyers prefer open concept floor plans to compartmentalized rooms. Knocking out a few walls may open your home up enough to provide the light and airy ambiance desired by today's millennial buyers. For instance, if your home features a formal dining room, consider removing one wall to open up the space.
Laundry Rooms
Fifty-five percent of those under the age of 35 who participated in the 2014 Consumer Insights Survey said that they would not buy a home that didn't have a laundry room. Perhaps all those years of schlepping bags of clothes to laundromats while living in apartments and dorms has made them long for their own personal laundry room.
Contact a local real estate agent at companies like Celia Dunn Sotheby's International Realty for more information on steps that you can take to make your home more attractive to potential buyers before taking the final step of listing it on the market.
After thinking long and hard about what to do with my living situation, I finally made the decision that it was time to buy a house. I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck because of rent, so I began working with professionals to guide me in the right financial direction. I was able to find a great company that offered exactly what I wanted to learn, and they walked me through the financial aspects of home ownership. Within a few short months, I was living in a gorgeous new home that I absolutely loved. Check out this blog for great advice on home ownership.