4 Ways Agents Can Connect with Millennial Clients

Millennials are the largest generation since Baby Boomers. Falling between the ages of 30 and 44, they’re also currently the largest generation of homebuyers — and will be for at least the next decade.

Millennial buyers tend to be ambitious about their jobs. They’re often caring for a combination of children, parents, and pets. They’ve also lived through three recessions, which is why many are saddled with student debt.

Still they largely value homeownership. In a survey of renters who’d moved in the last year, 71% of millennials said they considered buying during their rental search. In all, 25 million millennials say they intend to buy a home in the next year, but recent data shows that only about 3 million succeed. The other 22 million need a good agent.

Read on for four ways to connect with millennial buyers.

Millennials would rather text

Zillow Vice President of Research and Insights Marta Rey Babarro told this story on a panel called Text me, or don’t bother, at Zillow’s Unlock in November: “We had a group in the lab, and I was asking ‘When do you email? When do you text?’ And when we got to voicemails, they all laughed. Then one of them said, ‘It’s so annoying when my older brother leaves one of those and I have to listen to the whole thing!’”

The data backs this up: In the 2023 Zillow Consumer Housing Trends Report, 47% of millennial buyers who worked with an agent said they prefer to communicate via text or a messenger app, whereas 29% preferred phone calls and 22% email.

But this doesn’t mean the no calling rule is an absolute. “Obviously we need to communicate on the phone sometimes, but it’s best not to cold call,” says Zillow Senior Director of Channel Marketing Ben Levine. “We have to make sure that we're setting up the call, particularly for Gen Z or millennials, make sure we're warning them and explaining why we're contacting them. Set up the call with a text.”

Millennials love their pets

”Pet ownership is what drives a lot of millennials to move from renting to buying,” says Zillow Home Trends Expert Amanda Pendleton. “If you have a large dog or multiple animals, it's hard to find that right rental and then to get all the amenities you need.”

Pet ownership among buyer households rose from 64% in 2018 to 78% in 2023. Eighty-four percent of millennial buyers with pets said their pets influenced their home-buying decisions.

When asked what pet features millennial buyers consider essential in a home, 65% say they need a fenced backyard, and about a third say they want to be within walking distance of a dog park.

Millennials are very aware of climate risk

About a third of prospective millennial buyers — a larger percentage than any other generation — say climate risks are extremely impactful on where they shop and what they look for in a home. Eighty-six percent said at least one climate-related risk impacted where they shop for a home.

The greatest concern was for extreme heat: 44% said extreme temperatures impact where they shop for a home, 37% said they avoid wildfire areas, and 35% said they avoid locations prone to droughts.

Millennials want a solid return on investment

Zillow research shows that 59% of millennial buyers say it's highly important to be able to rent out the entire home in the future, and 55% want to generate rental income by renting out part of the home while they’re still living in it. Both percentages are significantly higher than those of other generations we surveyed. That's compared to 39% of all homebuyers, which is up eight percentage points in the past two years. It’s a practice that’s been dubbed ‘house hacking,’ and it’s likely to be a priority as long as affordability challenges persist.

'Younger homebuyers — mostly Gen Z and Millennials — are especially into the idea of rental income as a key factor in their home buying decisions,' says Zillow Senior Population Scientist Manny Garcia. 'For those first-time buyers navigating the 'side hustle culture,' where a regular 9-to-5 might not quite cut it for homeownership dreams, rental income can step in to help with mortgage qualification and smoothing out those monthly payments.'