Advanced Adulting!

Millennials are entering their first-time home buying years in droves.  Our daughter Callie who is in her mid-twenties recently purchased her first home in Austin.  On closing day her Facebook caption was that she hit another “adulting” checkpoint. It seems “adulting” has become a buzzword amongst millennials.  Urban dictionary defines “adulting” as a verb:   to do grown up things and hold responsibilities such as, a 9-5 job, a mortgage/rent, a car payment, or anything else that makes one think of grownups.

The chain of events that led to this decision for Callie began when I was visiting her in Austin earlier in the spring.  She shared that she was tired of paying rent and not having anything to show for it.  Quickly she came to the conclusion that she could either pay her landlord’s mortgage or she could pay her own.

The next step was to find out how much she could qualify to purchase on her income.  Like many millennial parents, we took an active role in the adulting of our offspring. In this case we contributed to the down payment which enabled her to afford more and buy well.  In the same way we had helped her brother purchase a condo on Capitol Hill in DC a few years back.  This really isn’t unusual, our parents helped my husband and I almost 30 years ago.  The transfer of wealth by means of the parental generation helping the next purchase real estate is an age-old story.

Millennials are mostly the offspring of the baby boomer generation and soon will overpass that demographic in terms of size. The baby boomers represent those persons born between 1946 and 1964. The millennials represent those born from 1982 to 2000 with the historic timing of the new millennium. According to US Census data, the millennials stand at a population count of 83.1 million which is 9 million more than that of the current baby boomers of 74.1.  There is a tsunami of potential first-time home buyers out there.  The responsibility of becoming a mortgage-paying adult is part of the metamorphism from child and adolescent to full launch as a self-supporting citizen.

As millennials check off the adulting steps of graduation, steady income, oftentimes ownership of a dog or pet, sometimes in a committed relationship, and plans to stay in place three to five years, many will seek to make home ownership as part of their journey.  Millennials, it is time to check off the next step in adulting and make the American dream of home ownership come true for you!

Karen Briscoe and Lizzy Conroy as well as their team of agents at HBC Group at Keller Williams are delighted to work with millennials as well as other demographics.  They are happy to be of service in the Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland and Washington, DC market place.  Whether selling or buying a home, please contact via the means most convenient for you:  www.HBCGroupKW.com, 703-734-0192, Homes@HBCGroupKW.com.