Millennials. Never before have we seen a generation so ethnically and racially diverse, so well-informed and so interconnected. With the leading edge of millennials only in their early thirties, most are just beginning their careers and are an important engine of the economy for the future. Understanding their complex mindset is critical to the success of nearly every industry and every company throughout the world.
As the oldest millennials come of age, PulteGroup examined millennials’ attitudes and behaviors toward, specifically the older millennials who are more affluent and better educated than the general population. The leading-edge millennial is prime for homeownership so understanding how they view homeownership is important in how PulteGroup caters to their housing and lifestyle needs, whether it be in the type of home, the location of communities or the home features.
Surprisingly, affluent millennials views on homeownerships and their purchasing intentions are similar to previous generations – in fact, they are acting just their Mom and Dad. They are just doing it a bit later in life. And while homeownership is on their list of ambitions, it’s not the first order of business in adulthood. And finally, there are clearly a lot of issues delaying homeownership, but it’s not dampening the interest and desire to own.
Based on our research findings, PulteGroup has created a set of guidelines – if you will – to serve affluent millennials. Our approach is simple, serve the millennial buyer looking for a more urban-like location, specifically targeting the older millennial buyer who is seeking closer-in locations and willing to accept attached product.
Targeting the older affluent millennial provides a number of benefits, including having a better financial profile with greater access to the mortgage market than the value-level buyer. While the entitlement/development process is often more challenging, the higher average selling prices (ASPs) and margins make this is an attractive product category and present an opportunity to target this buyer across most of PulteGroup’s markets across the country. You’ll see a few Pulte Homes community examples of how the Company is bringing this to life.