What Gen Xers Are Looking For In The Real Estate Market
Although much of the focus on buyers has been for sellers to appeal to Millennials, there’s still something to be said of Gen X buyers. After all, they are the largest generation with kids at home, they’re at their peak earning years and are making the most money and they are looking for bigger homes, an area that doesn’t overlap with the preferences of Millennials and Boomers seeking and competing for smaller homes. So, if you are a Tampa Bay area home seller and your house is a generous size, you might be better off marketing to the Gen X buyers.
Gen X was dealt a rotten hand in housing. Just as they started buying homes and investing, the housing market crashed. Many in this generation have spent recent years as renters. Many lost their homes to foreclosures after the crash, but these foreclosures are now falling off of their credit reports and they are finally ready to become homeowners again or for the first time.
Gen Xers have been largely ignored as consumers and even in the real estate industry. A consequence of this is that they are appreciative of people who are marketing to them and concerned about their needs. They don’t need to be able to walk to entertainment or work, but they want it within a convenient driving distance. This opens up many suburbs around Tampa that Millennials are less interested in.
Gen Xers are also generally pretty low-maintenance. Your home doesn’t have to be perfect. They’re totally willing to replace their own carpet or change their own fixtures. They don’t need to be taught how to get a mortgage and are pretty self-reliant. They were, after all, the first generation of latchkey kids. So, if your Tampa home is larger and with a higher price point, you might consider marketing to Millennials, which means a different kind of home staging. They’re looking for homes with good livability and functionality. They’re also straight shooters. A home that needs repairs should be marketed as a home that needs repairs if selling to a Gen X crowd. Plus, a home that needs repairs is unlikely to scare off a Gen Xer as much as it would a Millennial. Being completely truthful in marketing is the way to a Gen Xer’s heart. In fact, they’d be more impressed with your home to know exactly what’s wrong with it, especially if you already have written estimates for the repairs that will need to be done on the home. If they only find out because of an inspection, they’re likely to feel lied to and wonder what else is being hidden.
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