Historic Buyer Shift in Housing Preferences

If you are preparing your home for sale in 2016, then this blog is a must read before you list your home. I travel across the country talking with other Indie Brokers and Real Estate Professionals about market conditions, sales processes, and trends in the real estate industry.

Perhaps the biggest shift ever is taking place. The Millennial Market preferences are changing the way we sell our homes. The profile of the Millennial is important to your success because it will account for 30% of all US housing sales for 2016, and will continue to balloon over the next 20 years. What Millennials want matters, and how you prepare your home for sale must meet the demands of this picky segment of the market. So let's get to it....What do Millennials want? What do most buyer preferences look like for 2016?

Buyers want an updated house. They are usually a two career household. They do not have time to oversee construction projects and time is somewhat more important to them than money. In a walkable community like Whitefish Bay or Shorewood where the average price per square foot is $200 a square foot, we have seen completely remodeled homes go over $300 a square foot off Lake Michigan in 2015. This market segment will pay a premium for location and condition. So the old adage rings true, buy on location and maintain and update your home.

Millennials analyze data. They will dive into school reports, read anything that has been published on the house, talk with the neighbors about the neighborhood and develop spread sheets on pricing data for your neighborhood. Trying to get that premium price? Probably the most important improvement is your kitchen and the cheapest improvement is fresh clean paint colors.

In the property above, 1010 Thorne Lane in Fox Point, Wisconsin. Powers

Realty consulted with the seller for 4 weeks prior to listing the home. During that time we painted every room with fresh paint colors and then staged the home. This property did not have updated kitchens and baths and the seller did not want to spend the resources to do those updates, so fresh paint colors and neutralizing the house palate resulted in multiple offers over asking. However, the over asking was not without the preparation and hard work by the seller.

The days of putting your house on the market without preparation are long gone. The buyers do not care as much about potential; they care about the now. How will this affect their lifestyle? How much work will go into a new bathroom? How much time will be required of them? These are the questions they ask when they enter your home. Are you ready? Consulting with a Realtor make sense to adjust your home to the "right" paint colors and prepare for the scrutiny of the new buyer pool. We are here to help. Let us know how we can be of service to you.