Home Upgrades Millennials Couldn’t Care Less About
Should I redo my kitchen? Add a patio? Replace carpeting? All great questions!
Whether or not you are planning to sell your house now, it is helpful to know
trends of the current buyers as you make decisions for ongoing property
improvements. Millennials represent 36% of home buyers in 2019. So, what kind
of homes do they want? According to real estate professionals, a large majority
of millennials seek out properties that are move-in ready with plenty of room for
customization. "They care more about the home being clean and in good
condition," says Mary Katherine Spalding, a Realtor® associate with Helen Painter
Group in Fort Worth, TX. "e; Cosmetic changes are much easier to make, and
millennials are a generation of DIYers. The following were once valued home features that simply have little value to the
millennial buyer - which are important points to consider prior to a possible sale.
Over-the-top landscaping – A very spacious well-manicured yard was once
the pride and joy of earlier generations that did not mind the upkeep. Busy
millennials prefer smaller more manageable green spaces with plenty of
natural plantings that do not require too much time to maintain.- A formal dining room - Mom and Grandma may have cherished dinner
time in their fancy dining room with matching plates, sterling silver
flatware, and gold-plated tea sets. Young buyers tend to consider that
dedicated room a stuffy waste of space and would prefer that a dining
room be repurposed to provide a larger kitchen, play area, mud room or
home office. Many young buyers enjoy cooking in their kitchen and want
to eat in or near their kitchen, too. When it comes to gathering for a meal,
millennials appreciate the laid-back simplicity of breakfast nooks and
barstools. - A designated floor plan – Older generations appreciated a mapped-out
floor plan that designated a living room, dining room, and kitchen, but
millennials do not! They much prefer having large, open multifunctional
rooms. Think wide-open spaces that bring all these together - such as
kitchens with breakfast bars or islands that open directly to the living space. The concept of designated rooms has been replaced by the desire for “living areas” that flow. - Brand new carpeting - If you are considering sprucing up your home before you sell, think twice before spending money on installing new carpets. Millennials are moving away from carpeting in favor of bare floors with statement rugs. Bare floors are less apt to absorb germs and are also more pet-friendly—and millennials love their pets. Carpeting can absorb and retain odors, stains, and hair, and pet cleanup is easier on a hardwood floor.
- Memorabilia and game rooms - Millennials are not defined by their possessions—and they definitely do not want to showcase them in a room. So, if you are thinking about staging a room where the owners can show off their stuff, think again. According to Jason Duff, founder and CEO of Small Nation, a real estate development company, “Millennials may be a little different than previous generations in wanting to keep, collect, and show off all that they have accumulated." Millennials live a more digital existence, so Duff recommends staging your game area in a media room with a large TV or projector and maybe even surround sound.
My recommendation is to enjoy your home and have fun personalizing it -
understanding that when the time comes to selling buyers prefer a neutral
palette. In the interim, when making capital improvements to your home be
sure to consider the list above to know what your potential buyer will value.
