If you do a quick Google search with the key words “Millennials” & “Mortgage” you’ll find stockpiles of articles, analysis and data trying to figure out what OUR (I’m a millennial… FYI) ultimate impact will be on the housing market.
Now, we’ve already started to see a shift in buying power as Business Insider reported that Millennials control 42% of new mortgage loans by dollar volume… surpassing Gen X’ers (these are the 90210, Melrose Place & Real Word crowd) at 40% and the Baby Boomers who only account for 17%. So, it is happening. We are taking over the market… and we’re going to continue to take over the market for the foreseeable future.
I’ve been having trouble writing recently because I spent much of 2018 discussing and dissecting this very topic. Take a look below:
Are Millennials just late bloomers
That said, what I’d I want to get across to everyone is how to market to us and how we’re probably going to approach getting a mortgage… when we decide on what we want.
First and foremost, scrap the paper marketing. Trust me. Paper marketing is for the Pennysaver (it’s just what we called the classifieds in Pittsburgh) and credit card companies. If you want to grab the attention of a Millennial… give us something to click on. I have seen 400 ads for the Gravity Blanket, comfy sweatpants, that weird pod thing that looks like the newest type of bean bag chair and several hundred of other adds on Instagram… but maybe just 1 advertisement for a mortgage and it was from Well Fargo, which if you followed the news doesn’t have the best reputation as of late. Also, Facebook… like I get it. People are still on there, but that platform is now more for our parents than it is for us. I’m all set with checking in on my Aunt’s opinion of the trade deal between US and China… If you want to get your name out there spend money on a SnapChat ad that explains what the HomePossible & HomeReady programs are. Talk about how they can help you secure a mortgage despite the fact you might not have a TON of money for down payment. We’re Millennials… we’re buried in debt, but that doesn’t mean that if you tell us we only need 6% down to get a home that we won’t take a peek. We love debt!!
FYI… that same Business Insider report (from earlier) also stated that Millennials averaged 8.8% as a down payment in Dec 2018. NEWS FLASH Millennials don’t have savings!
Lastly, let’s talk about how we’re going to approach getting a mortgage… REFERRALS! Trust me. Trust me. Trust me. We’re going to ask our parents, our friends, our co-workers… everyone around us. We want to work with people we know. You’re not going to buzz us on the phone while we’re at work and hawk us a mortgage. We barely pick up the phone as it is… what makes you think we’re going to dive all over an unknown number? I don’t know about you, but my Mother has made me weary about unknown numbers since the mid-90s. I’ve been screening calls since my 8th birthday (that’s 1995 in case you’re wondering). We want to work with people that we trust. That means your service levels better be unmatched and you better answer the phone when we call. We want to speak to a live human for when we can’t figure something out on our own. It’s that simple.
Millennials are now the target… so get savvier with your virtual content marketing, build your referral sources and for goodness sake don’t feel like you have to wear a tailored suit to your closings… that look gave our industry a bad name before the recession. Be yourself. Dress for your day. Smell nice and remember that suits are for our Dads. You can outclass a suit with the right jeans, a pair of oxfords and a tucked in button down. Trust me. It’ll go further than trying to “act” the part of a mortgage banker… I mean that’s my opinion at least.
Talk to you soon!
MJ
The opinions expressed in this post are the sole view of the writer and do not reflect the opinion of Princeton Mortgage Corporation.