If you're planning on selling your home in the near future, you're probably looking for ways to increase its value so you can make a profit. Although there are many ways to increase a home's value, you may want to think about your audience. That's right: think about the type of buyer who may be interested in your home. With 31% of homebuyers being a part of the millennial generation, now is a great time to start thinking about how you can make your home millennial-friendly to sell it for more money.
Landmark Home Warranty will walk you through the steps of determining if your home is a good candidate to sell to a millennial, as well as what you can do to up its value to a young homebuyer even more.
The Type of Home You Should Have:
Of course, as you begin thinking of shaping your home to what a millennial would want to increase your profit, you have to first think about what type of home you should already have that will attract the younger generation. These are things that you can't necessarily change about your home (at least not easily) and can change if you try to update your home for a younger buyer or not. Your home should have:
Strong Cell Service
The younger generation is constantly connected. Their phones are a staple of their lives, connecting them with work, family, their significant other and friends. They use it to browse the internet and for entertainment, but they also use it for work, scheduling and even as an alarm clock or fitness trainer. Where a few years ago cell service may have not been a deciding factor for a homebuyer, in today's ever-connected world, a potential buyer may say no to your property if they can't get connected.
Internet Capability
Once again, for the younger generation connection is key. Although you can't make the internet speeds faster for the buyer, they will ask you about what service you use and the speeds you get. With many millennials working from home (or at home after a day at the office) the ability to be online at the click of a button is enticing. If your home has glitchy internet because of its location, there's a chance a millennial will pass it up for a better-connected property.
Higher Walk Score
Although not every millennial is interested in being in the heart of the city, most want a place that's accessible to grocery stores, entertainment, coffee shops, dining establishments and their work. Run your address through a walk score calculator to determine how close-by you are to the necessities. IF you have a higher walk score, millennials will see this as a plus and look closer at your property.
Open Floor Plans with Multifunctional Spaces
In generations previous, having set places for a dining room, sitting room, living room and kitchen were important. Now, having large open spaces that function as both, either or neither of these purposes is what buyers want. Newer homebuyers want places where they can entertain larger groups without sectioning them off into rooms, and also create a space where family can be together, no matter what they're doing. Many times new homebuyers will want to separate the kitchen and living room area through flooring choices such as tile in the kitchen and carpet in the living room space, or hardwood floors throughout and rugs in the living room. New buyers are looking for places that they can be creative and make what they need and want out of the space; not something that is pre-determined for them.
Updates to Sell the Home to Millennials
If this is the type of home you have, your home is already an excellent candidate for a home a millennial would purchase. You can easily update your home to increase its value and increase the price point at which you sell the house. Some updates you may want to do are:
Updated Kitchen and Bathroom
Young homeowners don't typically have a lot of money to sink into a home after purchasing. The kitchen and the bathroom both are one of the most expensive parts of a home to update. If the home is already updated to stainless steel appliances and granite countertops, potential buyers will likely spend more money to purchase the home.
Home Office
If there is a small corner of your home or extra room that you can create and stage as a home office, millennials will be interested in purchasing. Many millennials work from home or want a place to pay bills and work online. A small home office room can show them your space is multi-functional and help them envision what they could do with your home.
Wood Flooring
Millennials want easy to clean flooring that doesn't require a lot of upkeep. Wood flooring is particularly interesting to them because it's easy to mop up a spill or sweep at the end of the day, but it also makes your space looked polished.
Energy Efficient
If you show a millennial how much money they'll be saving in the long run through your energy efficient updates (like adding insulation or upgrading to a high-efficiency washer and dryer) they may be more likely to purchase your home.
Fewer Repairs with a Home Warranty
Younger homebuyers watched their parents and family members work in the provide upkeep on the home for long hours on the weekends. Millennials generally work long hours on the weekdays and want to spend their weekends doing something for them "“ not working on the house. They're less likely to want to DIY home repairs and are more likely to want to hire someone else to do them. Offering a home warranty with the sale of a home can entice younger home buyers to purchase, as they'll enjoy having to do less repairs on their own and get lower prices.
Changing Up the Garden Space
Most millennials look at a garden and think of all the extra time and work they'll have to put into it. They want easy outdoor options, not something that requires them to come home from work and keep working on the home. They may want a small portion of land like an outdoor balcony or patio. Set up your yard or balcony as simply as possible in order to maximize a younger buyer's interest.
Stage the Home
Although it might not always seem necessary, staging a home is important to younger buyers. Individuals are more likely to purchase a staged home, so ensure your décor and colors are on trend. Your Realtor or someone they trust for staging can help with this if you're interested. If you want to stage your home yourself, you can find tips for staging here.
For more information on home warranties, you can visit our plans and pricing page to see what options we offer for your and your home.