Posted on 01/17/2011 9:21:45 AM PST by Gena Bukin
Here's what Generation Y doesn't want: formal living rooms, soaker bathtubs, dependence on a car.
In other words, they don't want their parents' homes.
Much of this week's National Association of Home Builders conference has dwelled on the housing needs of an aging baby boomer population. But their children actually represent an even larger demographic. An estimated 80 million people comprise the category known as "Gen Y," youth born roughly between 1980 and the early 2000s. The boomers, meanwhile, boast 76 million.
Gen Y housing preferences are the subject of at least two panels at this week's convention. A key finding: They want to walk everywhere. Surveys show that 13% carpool to work, while 7% walk, said Melina Duggal, a principal with Orlando-based real estate adviser RCLCO. A whopping 88% want to be in an urban setting, but since cities themselves can be so expensive, places with shopping, dining and transit such as Bethesda and Arlington in the Washington suburbs will do just fine.
"One-third are willing to pay for the ability to walk," Ms. Duggal said. "They don't want to be in a cookie-cutter type of development. ...The suburbs will need to evolve to be attractive to Gen Y."
Outdoor space is important-but please, just a place to put the grill and have some friends over. Lawn-mowing not desired.
(Excerpt) Read more at realestate.yahoo.com ...
Wait until they have kids.
Most urban school unions/administrations are unaccountable. Also, consider the non-yuppie student population.
Yuppies did that too until the kids arrived. As a matter of fact most generations of the 20th century had city time then suburb time.
Some of our current economic woes come from the idea that everyone deserves a 3500+ square foot mini-mansion with all the bling bling trim and a private suite for every member of the family, regardless of ability to pay for it without taking on a ruinous level of debt.
I am 53 and I do not want a spa tub, or a formal living room, I do like my formal dining room but would just as happy with a big area in my kitchen for dining.....I had a home with a living room and rarely used it and I currently have a spa tub, came with the house....used the tub once with bubbles to soothe my aching feet.....what a pain to clean after that and haven't used it since.... The questions for me are..... Do I really want to clean all that space? Do I really want to pay to heat or cool all that space?
People can live in any house they choose, I don't care but I still like my SUV.........
I'm in a similar position as you. I am just a couple years old, and my wife and I bought our home "in the burbs" about 7 years ago with young kids, and after many years as escapees from the "big city." I live in NY State, so an average $200,000 house will cost at least $600 per month in property taxes, probably more. I could probably have afforded more house, but absolutely NO WAY I would consider or afford the taxes on a larger house, considering that these can easily reach $20,000 per year on a larger home. Conclusion - I think Gen Y'ers will revolt when they find out their ridiculously high property taxes are going to pay for their parents' generations' state-employee health and pension costs. Doesn't bode well for all those big McMansions on the market.
I wouldn't give up being able to walk two blocks to the hardware store, walk three blocks to the grocery store, walk one block to a bar for a beer, or walk 5 blocks for a Michelin rated restaurant, which I can do from my house here in Chicago, for 10 mansions in the suburbs.
As a person who didn’t drive until just a few years ago and perforce walked and bused everywhere, I can say it’s not the walking that’s problematic, even as an older person if you are in decent health - it’s carrying stuff.
I am so glad to have a car and not have to limit my shopping to what I can carry back on the bus, I’m a prof and it’s great to throw a load of books in the car and not have to be weighed down by a backpack, etc. The time savings from having a car and not worrying about bus schedules or standing out in the weather makes having a car a great thing for me.
I’ve lived in metro and suburban areas with great public transportation, but it was still a drag sometimes. And once you wind up in a place with limited public transportation, a car is a necessity.
I’m all for walking, but driving ain’t bad either. These Millennials will find out the same.
I felt that way for a good bit, too. Why would I want a huge house to clean, take care of, etc etc etc etc.
Then, I started house shopping. What I *really* wanted was a decent-sized (read, big enough for 2 kid family) place, on a large parcel (few acres) of land. I wanted it in a good school district, and I didn't want the upkeep of a 100-year-old farmhouse...so something moderately new.
Places like that, in my area at least, are about like unicorns. They don't exist. Or if they do exist, someone already owns it. If they were selling, it was so ridiculously out of my price range that I didn't even bother asking.
So...... instead of less house on more land, I wound up with more house on less land. I'm not sure if you'd call it a "McMansion", but the place is pretty good sized. So far (a year or so into it) I still love the place. Nice to have a workshop, office, playspace for the kids, etc. And it's in a nice rural/suburban school district, with parks, baseball fields, etc etc close enough to walk (or more important) ride a bike to.
I dunno, after growing up waaaaaay out in the sticks, I never saw myself as a suburbanite slob, but, geez, it's easy and it works. It took some homework to find a place that I'd fit in - for instance, there's no HOA where I live, and taxes are 1/2 what I was previously paying for a house "in the city". But, with some looking, it can work OK.
And the fact that no one else wants one right now, really put me in the driver's seat when it came to negotiations. I almost felt guilty, as the former owners were so compliant with pricing, etc.
I used to want to live in a place where I could walk to everything - until I tried it, and quickly realized the downside was that everything could walk to you. :)
I am 27 years old, although I could afford to buy a house, I don’t want the trouble.
But I NEED stainless steel appliances and I cannot cook in a kitchen that does not have granite countertops.
I cannot LIVE in a house that does not have 9-10’ ceilings(even though i am only 5’10”). I MUST have a bathroom for every bedroom.
I also NEED to have the biggest Kubota lawn tractor to mow my 1/4 acre lot. John Deere are so passe.
I blame HGTV ! (sarc)
Funny, these people want exactly what the globalists want us to live like. Yeah, they already live like this...it’s called Europe. No thanks.
She's riding in the middle of his pickup truck
Blaring Charlie Daniels, yelling, Turn it up!
They raised her up a lady but there's one thing
They couldn't avoid
Ladies love country boys
Man, you married young.
OK, seriously, your point is correct. Real estate taxes increase because if you've got a home it's difficult to avoid them. People can avoid sales and sin taxes by changing their purchasing habits, but unless you want your home repossessed, you WILL pay up on property taxes.
Urban environments tend to be less kid and pet friendly. When I was younger, I spent some time in NYC, and could have been very happy living there as a young single. A car was more an annoyance than a convenience there, but in the city there were a lot of restaurants, entertainment, other people, etc.
There are advantages to urban, suburban, and country living, but with each choice you give up something else.
People make their choices based on how they wish to live, and of course the availability of jobs, income and cost in their chosen environment. Yeah, I could get into having a corner office high up in a skyscraper, or a workshop out in the country. Making the choice of which you want, though, also affects many other choices. If woodworking is how you wish to spend your spare time, an urban apartment isn't a good choice. If restaurants, movies and plays are a high priority, Dime Box, Texas may not be on your top ten list.
Yeah.
As I've posted here more than once, I grew up in a Chicago bungalow, 1100 square feet on a 25x100 lot. Shared a room with my kid brother until I was 18. And we never felt poor. Burning the mortgage when I was twelve years old probably had something to do with that.
I grew up in a Chicago neighborhood where having to walk a whole block to a bar would have been considered “wilderness living”.
Formal dining? I could care less. It does make a great classroom space however.
I think this is going to play a big part of this trend --if this trend continues. Homes just aren't the ballooning investments they used to be and even a slight increase in energy prices can have a dramatic effect when it comes to cooling and heating a 3000+ square foot home.
This is one sign that the older generations have squandered our inheritance.
Sadly, I feel the same way (for the record, I'm a Gen-X'er). Gen-Y will unlikely be able to afford the size of homes they were raised in.
I live in a neighborhood where I can do this. It's not an urban area, though, more like a village, very safe, little crime and being able to walk places is something I appreciate. I grew up in a typical 70s suburb where it was 1.5 miles just to the entrance and another 1.5 miles to the nearest grocery store. Nothing but homes to pass along the way. Pretty much needed a car to get anywhere. I like the fact that I can put my son in his stroller and walk 10 minutes to Vons for a gallon of milk.
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