According to the 2017 Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends Report, Millennials bought 34% of the homes sold; the largest of any generation last year.
Millennials looking to buy their first, or second, home need to ready themselves for a surprisingly competitive market. Lack of supply causes attractive homes to garner multiple offers in just a few hours!
What can a Millennial buyer do to appeal to sellers and be the one who ends up with the home? Here are 5 ways they can snag their dream home in this seller’s market.
Get Pre-Approved
Figuring out what a home buyer can afford is a crucial step and no different for these savy Millenial home buyers. Sellers like to avoid nasty surprises. Being pre-approved shows the seller that the homebuyer is serious and financially able to purchase their home.
Meeting with a mortgage originator and getting pre-approved is how it’s done. This professional will pull credit history and look at current financial infomation to determine precisely how much of a mortgage is affordable. The pre-approval can then be used as part of their offer letter.
Be Decisive
A hot real estate market is no time for cold feet. Millennials should proactively create a list of must-haves and be ready with an offer when they find a home that meets their requirements.
Taking too long to mull over whether they like the house, the neighborhood, or the price can result in a dream house being sold right out from under them.
Get Real
Millennials should research pricing in the neighborhoods they like, and lean on their real estate agent for helpful guidance. Low-balling an offer is not likely to be received well in this competitive market. Making a fair, reasonable offer close to, or even above, the asking price is the best course of action to land the home they want.
Show Personality
If sellers feel like they know the buyer, they are more likely to choose them over a faceless offer. Include a personal letter with the offer. Go into detail about why the house is appealing. Add personal details about what the Millennial buyer wants to do in the house like raise children, plant a garden, or enjoy baking in the kitchen.
If all buyers are equal, a heartfelt letter just might tip the scales.
Agree to the Seller‘s Timetable
Some sellers prefer unloading their house fast. Others may want to wait to move until their kids are out of school or the new home they are building is ready.
Millennial buyers may need to dig to get this information but it can be used to their advantage. Being flexible might just set them up to be the best choice for the seller.
While challenging, it’s not impossible for Millennials to end up with the house of their dreams. With a bit of planning, decisiveness, flexibility, and a preapproval from their trusted mortgage professional, Millenials can make homeownership a reality in the very near future!
A mortgage pre-qualification is an initial estimate of what type and size of mortgage a borrower could get. It is limited, though, because it’s only based on what the borrower tells the lender, which might not be the same as what the lender finds out when it goes through a full process of analyzing the borrower and his credit.