It’s the hot topic in real estate that everyone is buzzing about; The Millennial also known as Gen “Y”, the eco-boomers, and the list goes on. But whatever you call them it’s hard to ignore over 9 million people that make up 27% of the Canadian population and the largest group of consumers since the boomers.
I’m what one would call a conference addict. I attend pretty much every real estate conference, summit, and workshop I can get to. I love learning and gathering new information about my trade and passion; Real Estate. I sit in my seat iPad in hand attentively listening to the speakers for the next big idea in real estate and then it comes, the millennial segment and I can feel my blood pressure begin to rise. It usually involves a boomer on stage sharing stories about how tech savvy their kid is teaching them to use Netflix and how they will only speak to their parents via texting. Often reminding everyone they have Millennial kid still living in their basement so they “get” that generation. The speaker will then usually start cracking jokes about the characteristics of Millennial’s which often include narcissism, entitled, not particularly motivated, and my personal favourite “trophy kids”. Now why would I get so worked up about this? Because I just so happen to be a Millennial. And I can tell you from firsthand experience, there is nothing more frustrating than listing to someone tell a room full of people negative stereotypes about you and your friends and subsequently how to work with these “youngings” in real estate. And all I can think is what they describe doesn’t in anyway describe me, my friends, or really any Millennial’s I know. Why? Because no two people are ever the same. As professionals in a client-based business we know firsthand no two clients are the same. Every person I deal with has different needs, characteristics, and communication style. One of my favourite things about real estate is getting to know my clients and understand their individual needs. I’m sure we can all relate to often working with clients and finding them their “dream” home which always polar opposite to what they original describe to you. Its understanding people’s needs and what they want better then they do themselves. After all isn’t that what service is all about?
Millennial are no different. We may share some commonalities but are more often than not vastly different and unique in our needs. So if you’re looking for that magic formula for the millennial market, it’s as simple as good old fashioned people skills and providing value to your clients.
For more information on the Millennial’s I suggest talking to a Millennial, I promise we don’t bite but are more than happy to tell what makes us tick and how to relate to us as consumers. But no phone calls please, we really do only text 😉 You can also check out Canadianmillennials.ca, the book Marketing to Millennials, and of course my episode of Niche Agent with Ryan Smith “Boomers-Schmoomers… Millennials Are Where It’s At!”
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