A Different Type of Millennial

Demographics and Millennials 

Not All Millennials are alike in how they view housing needs.

I did an open house in Edison Township NJ and observed that due to the demographics of the specific area, most of the people coming into the house to take a tour were of Indo-Asian heritage, average age in the 40's to 50's with a pretty much established family size. The house was fully renovated and expanded to a five bedroom home, approx. 2400 sq. feet and built for a large family in mind. So far so good. (not really). What was not taken into consideration was that large families are not made up of just parents and children. Households for homes this size are made up of Parents, Grandparents and grandchildren (sometimes great grandchildren) and a form of communal living is more the norm than the exception. The older Grandparents need to be on the first floor, to avoid climbing up stairs and make it easier for them to get around inside the home.This is not uncommon within this demographic, where the buyers are somewhat driven and successful professionals or business owners, preparing for their children to go to college and eventually returning home afterwards to start their careers, find a spouse and eventually expand the family (always migrating back to the parental home). The thought is that with the anticipation of family expansion (and staying close together) and aging parents, in this case becoming grandparents, a home like this would be ideal to grow into for the long haul. 

I had the pleasure of meeting with a young couple, who seemed to be in their early 30's at best with no children in tow and was pleasantly surprised to get their take on why they would look a a house this size. I asked for honesty and they were nice enough to share their thoughts with me on the down side of the homes they had seen (as well were in). They were looking at starting a family of their own as well as facing the reality of older parents coming to live with them in the near future, knowing that it would be expected of them. Millennial's, in this culture, are marrying later, in order to go into a relationship better established financially, but with that, there is a sense of duty or even obligation to the parents to keep the family close together as they grow older, in order to give them the personal care they would eventually need. I was impressed that even though these were young professionals getting on with their lives, the bonds of family were still kept strong and duty to the family is done naturally and without question.

This isn't only something seen in the Indo-Asian communities, it's actually the norm for most Euro-Asian ethnicities, housing needs are shifting back to the large family home, especially for families migrating from other countries (1st and 2nd generation nationals). Most families come here to start a new life in this country, working hard for little money and no benefits to support their children who came with them, building on the value and resources of a close knit family. Today we see the American millennial's quite differently. We see them as well educated, career focused, high-tech and so on, striking it out on their own and each man for themselves.This is a great definition for second and third generation Americans that may have detached from the family hub because the family has already risen to some level of socioeconomic stability from previous generations, but not for the new arrivals from foreign lands looking to reestablish themselves here, in this new land legally. Yes, they are driven, hard working and focused, but all the efforts, of all the family members, are always brought back to the family head of household so they may prosper as one unit, taking care of each other financially and emotionally. This is how they can afford to buy these large homes.

Builders, Architects and contractors, pay close attention to the following. Baby Boomers make up a considerable part of the population and most of them had all to do to raise a family and try to get their children into higher learning institutions. Most of the Baby Boomers were faced with a roller coaster of economic highs and lows and many didn't plan for old age too well either (especially first generation that may have arrived later in life). At the end of the day there wasn't much left over to plan with. That being said, as parents become grandparents and start to become unable to keep up with the changing times around them as well as possible declining health, they become more dependent on their older, more established children to get them through this phase of life. 

What I'm getting at here is that most homes built in suburbia were colonial or cape style homes with bedrooms on the upper level and basement laundry rooms, built for the ideal family consisting of just mom, dad and two kids. Today's buyer, in this family centered culture, is better described in the preceding paragraphs and the need for the first floor suite (with bathroom) for the grand parents and laundry facilities on the main bedroom level are in high demand.Without question any builder who is doing rehab construction or even new build, keep this thought in mind. Larger homes are making a comeback to families as described here, but don't forget these two must haves when in the design phase of your project. As a side note, the basement has become the play room for the children as well as a storage area.

Change the design to fit the need. Change isn't coming, with this demographic, It's HERE.
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Let me know what you think. Feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks - Dom.