6 Ways Younger Homebuyers Can Get Around the Housing Problem Caused by Boomers
Written by
Jordan Rosenfeld
Edited by
Molly Sullivan
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Many boomers who bought their homes when prices were affordable are choosing to retire in place and not sell their homes. This is contributing to a low inventory of homes for sale for younger generations like millennials and even Gen Z who are trying to buy.
Other factors have also slowed the housing market, such as higher interest rates (though these are starting to decline) and inflation-driven high costs of living.
For younger homebuyers who are ready to buy financially but struggling to find a home, Clint Jordan, a realtor and CEO and founder of Mil-Estate offered the following six solutions.
Find a Good Realtor
The first place to start is to connect with a good realtor who can help you search for the best home, Jordan said. He said it often takes someone who knows the market to know about what’s truly available, including “off market possibilities.”
A search on Zillow, or a similar site, is not capturing a true snapshot of your entire market, Jordan explained. Realtors are often networking in groups where investors and sellers announce homes for sale that haven’t yet gone on the market. “So number one is to find somebody who understands your specific area.”
Expand Your Search Area
Number two, interested buyers should really consider expanding their search criteria, Jordan suggested.
While people often gravitate to cities and the suburbs, he said, “Often inventory expands a bit just outside of the cities.”
Cities are notoriously difficult to buy within because they’re so coveted, as can be suburbs when the market is tight. But outside cities you can often find properties that are just a little bit out of the way and, thus, available and even potentially more affordable.
Consider Co-Buying
Another way to expand your inventory possibilities is to partner up with others to co-buy a home, which increases your buying power and thus your inventory, Jordan said. “The problem is most of our first-time home buyers have a lower budget. All of the investors and everybody else buy up all of the low budget homes, so then there’s nothing for them to buy anymore. But there’s often inventory at a little bit higher price point or like a duplex or a fourplex or something,” he said.
By co-buying, whether it’s two individuals or two couples, that opens you up to a bigger house. “You’re splitting the cost for it, but again, you’re making a little bit more on it and it opens up some more opportunities.”
Look For Emerging Markets
If you’ve hit a wall in all the areas near to you, and have accepted that it’s time to move out to a new market altogether, Jordan recommend you search for “emerging markets.” These might be places that are building technology hubs or have military bases — his own town of Colorado Springs is one of those.
“Amazon just built here in town and we have five military bases. So there’s always turnover.”
In emerging markets, inventory may open up more frequently as people move in and out, or it may be still relatively undiscovered. “There’s always going to be people coming and going here because of the Amazons of the world, because of our five military bases. So look for some of those places. A lot of your heavy military towns are always going to have available houses because those guys and gals, they don’t have a choice.”
Take a Virtual Tour
Additionally, real estate tools such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) have now made it possible to take a virtual tour of almost any market or town without the need to spend money on flights and travel, Jordan explained. Even five years ago, he said, “There was no way for you to understand or know what, say, my town of Colorado Springs even had except for maybe flying out here. Right? Well, now we have all this VR AI. I can literally show you the Springs.”
Shift To Remote Work
Lastly, he said, if you have a remote job or can get one then you can really widen your search area because you won’t be tied to a location for your job. More places of employment now offer remote work since the early days of the pandemic, making it more likely to find, as well.
One or more of these strategies may make it possible to find your starter home or even your dream home sooner than you think.
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