Despite what the internet may be telling you these days, millennials are starting to buy homes at an incredible rate. That’s right, many are moving out of their parent’s basement and are looking to spend their hard-earned dollars on a permanent housing investment. The economy is getting younger, and the next generation of home buyers is looking for something a little bit different than the buyers of old.
As this is the case, it’s important to know how best to stage your home for millennial buyers to bring them in. A few animal print throw pillows and a creaky grand piano won’t do the trick anymore. Real estate marketers and home stagers have taken a brand new approach to getting your home ready to sell in a market that features small families and young couples who don’t know what life was like before the internet.
Here’s how to pull their heads away from their smartphones and sell them a house.
Minimalism Is the New Shabby Chic
A general rule of thumb is the simpler the better. Avoid overcomplicating the decor and furniture selection as Millennials are easily turned off by spaces that don’t offer a certain sense of personal zen. If you insist on packing as much as possible to demonstrate the functionality of the space, be sure to stick to monochromatic pieces that don’t make your living room look like a bomb went off in an antique shop.
Also, adding quirky touches like hanging a picture frame on the wall with no actual picture in it goes a long way to showing the ironic potential of the interior decor. I’m only half joking about that. Or, if that’s a bit too “on the nose” beautiful canvas prints are a great example of clean wall art that enhances the space without distracting from it.
Use Their Smartphones Against Them
It might take a bit of an up-front investment from the seller, but integrating technology in a way that makes home ownership easier will register as a major selling point for millennials. In recent years, appliance and home system manufacturers like LG, GE, and Sony have poured their entire R&D budget into making home maintenance a completely automated affair. This goes for temperature control, sound system integration, and lighting.
Most of these applications can be controlled via smartphone or tablet, transforming the home into an extension of those devices. It’s a brand new world—one operated by robots, artificial intelligence, and a whole lot of ones and zeros.
Rip Out Every Inch of Carpet
A millennial would rather chop down every tree in the Amazon rainforest than live in a home with carpeted floors. They are dirty, allergenic, and are a surefire way to turn off any young buyer. Get rid of the carpet.
Concrete slabs are great, but not always practical—especially for homes that already have a crawlspace to deal with. Hardwood is a great option and a relatively inexpensive one to boot. Engineered wood floors are sustainable, durable, and can be easily covered with a few trendy area rugs to help soften things up. This kind of flooring will have young buyers swooning, spooning, and unloading their PayPal accounts.
Make a Statement
One advantage to keeping a majority of the decor minimal and understated is it makes creating an emphatic focal point as easy as swiping right. Whether it be a retro coffee table, designer floor lamp, or entire wall filled with Andy Warhol paintings, having a single statement piece to punch them right in the nose will leave a lasting impression as they continue on their hunt for the perfect millennial abode.
Feel free to get creative with this one. Something seemingly non-millennial like modern coffered ceilings implemented in some interesting way can act to break up the stark monotony of a minimalist design approach and establish a twist of irony that plays well with young buyers. If it is different, chances are it will sell.
Let Pinterest Set You Free
When Millennials aren’t coding the next social media app or watching Game of Thrones, they are probably scouring Pinterest for the coolest DIY projects they will ever do themselves. That shouldn’t stop you from taking some design cues from the coffers of the internet’s most addictive compulsive browsing enabler.
Jokes aside, Pinterest is quite the tool for finding staging ideas that won’t break the bank. I wouldn’t rely on it for any big-picture decision-making, but you could do a lot worse for smaller accents or specific elements. Just don’t go DIY overboard or you might find the home you are trying to sell is suddenly overflowing with chalkboard picture frames and painted mason jars. You’ve been warned!
Hope you enjoyed these tips that will help you stage your home for millennial buyers. For more info on this topic, check out What You Should Know When Selling Real Estate: 4 Essential Considerations. Cheers!
