Marketing Beyond Millennials - Part 3: Deciding on a Home

While there are fundamental differences between generational buyers, at their core, everybody wants a home of their own.

Remember: When you’re talking about new construction buyers, you’re mostly talking about repeat home buyers. Your marketing will reflect the needs of those who’ve likely forged this path before, but knowing how to market to each generation can help broaden the audience of buyers you’re trying to attract.

Search activities

When it comes to determining if a home is right for them, all three older generations — Gen Xers (aged 38-52), baby boomers (aged 53-72) and silent generation buyers (aged 73+) — identify a private tour as the most important factor, followed by an inspection (or pre-inspection) report and viewing the floor plan. However, 61 percent of Gen Xers consider the floor plan their third most important factor; that’s significantly higher than baby boomers’ (51 percent) and silent generation buyers’ (52 percent) consideration.

Attending an open house doesn’t rank as high among the two oldest generations. More than half of baby boomers (55 percent) and most silent generation buyers (82 percent) don’t attend a single open house during their search.

The takeaway: Most new construction home buyers are repeat buyers and experienced shoppers who prefer one-on-one time with you during a personal tour, rather than attending an open house. Structure tours and meetings to give plenty of time and attention to these home shoppers.

Financing

Younger buyers are most likely to obtain pre-approval for a mortgage — 87 percent of millennials (aged 18-37) and 84 percent of Gen Xers — and that’s partly due to being first-time buyers, for the most part, who don’t have proceeds from selling a previous home to pay for a new one. That’s significantly more than the number of baby boomers (64 percent) and silent generation buyers (46 percent) who get pre-approved and who tend to be repeat buyers with proceeds from the sale of a previous home.

Many buyers in the two oldest generations pay for their homes in full rather than with a mortgage: 54 percent of silent generation buyers and 35 percent of baby boomers. This might be due to them likely being repeat buyers who have cash from a home sale to put toward the down payment of a new home. Of those buyers who get a mortgage, 47 percent of silent generation buyers, 51 percent of baby boomers and 49 percent of Gen Xers make a down payment of 20 percent or more.

The takeaway: Again, financing choices might be more a function of being a repeat buyer than a generational thing. Be sensitive to the buyer’s timing: They might be selling a home at the same time they’re buying their next home. Talk about their new construction options in relation to their timetable.

Preferred communication method

When asked how they prefer to communicate throughout the process, 39 percent of all new construction buyers who contacted a sales center prefer in-person meetings, followed by phone calls (29 percent of all new construction buyers) and emails (25 percent).

The takeaway: Find out what a buyer’s preferred method of communication is, and use it when you reply. It shows you understand their needs and, they’ll be more responsive because they’re comfortable with that method.

Response time

There’s no difference in expected sales center response time across generations: All buyers expect a quick reply when they’re ready to learn more about you and your homes — and they’re likely to move on to the next builder if they don’t quickly hear from you.

Nearly half of all new construction buyers (46 percent) expect a response from a builder sales rep within a few hours or less. More than 3 in 4 of these buyers (76 percent) expect a response in a day or less.

The takeaway: It’s always professional — and good business — to respond promptly to inquiries. Remember: Nearly half of the older generation buyers are likely to have a 20 percent or more down payment!

Why they choose new construction

All new construction buyers indicate that they purchase the home for its location, newness and appealing features. The exception is millennials, who are most likely to point to shared community amenities as a top-three reason for choosing new construction.

But there are also a few generational differences for what new construction buyers truly want:

• Millennials are most likely to consider tangible qualities and services in the neighborhood, and they require proximity to key services, public transportation and their workplace.
• Older home buyers have a more emotional approach and are more likely to require a home located in their preferred (and a safe) neighborhood.
• Gen Xers are more likely to have children under the age of 18 living at home, and they require a neighborhood in their preferred school district that offers community amenities.

The takeaway: Promote your strengths — the features that make your location and homes so appealing. Highlight the fact that everything is new, which allows buyers to put the very first stamp on the home and completely personalize it.

Continue reading our three-part series, Marketing Beyond Millennials:

• Marketing Beyond Millennials - Part 1: The Buyer's Search
• Marketing Beyond Millennials - Part 2: What Buyers Want