1st Time Home-Buyer Secrets
“Spoiled,” “unrealistic,”
and “demanding” proceed “first time home-buyer” in the daily banter of many
Realtors. You’ll find them commiserating
around water-coolers and coffee-stations from coast to coast, mourning the good old days of real estate before the
internet and HGTV. I say today's first time home-buyers are Sacrificial. Wait . . . What?
No generation is immune from sacrifice. Like their parents and grandparents, the vast
majority of millennials want the American Dream of steady employment, a loving family,
a Home of their own -- and they routinely make
sacrifices to achieve their goals.
It appears every generation receives access to something new
that’s designed to make lives “easier” and as each new advance emerges so do greater
expectations of what we can accomplish, what we should know, and how long it
should take us to reach our goals. Perhaps
these generational changes make it difficult for older generations to truly see and understand
the very real sacrifices today’s first time home-buyers make in pursuit of
their dreams.
Contrary to what popular myths, today's millennial generation isn't waiting for easy-fixes and get-rich-quick schemes. Like other generations, they work hard for what they have. An overwhelming majority use financing to buy their homes. The majority of their down-payments come from good old-fashioned saving.
As professionals, it is
our duty to understand our home buyer clients so we can help them in their pursuits.
The tools and information available to Realtors in 2014,
when shared with first time home-buyers and utilized to help them reach their
real estate goals, produces transactions with less stress and provides
home-buyers the opportunity to have a great home on great terms. Anticipating
a first time or repeat home-buyer of any age to expect less of me as a Realtor is “unrealistic” and I'd be a “spoiled . . . demanding” Realtor expecting today’s home buyers to be satisfied with the norms of the past.
