In the past few decades, many processes and ways of life have changed and evolved. One industry that has seen quite a bit of change is real estate. Real estate is constantly shifting and adjusting the way in which it presents homes and other commercial properties to potential buyers. Now that technology controls most of the ways we do things, real estate included, we can really take a good look at the way generational differences affect the homebuying process. What might not feel like that long ago, homebuyers were finding listings by scouring the classifieds section in the newspaper or by driving around the block looking for “for sale” signs. Today’s internet-influenced world presents an entirely different process. Here’s why.
New Methods of Communication
While it might feel like they’ve been around forever, cell phones are a fairly recent development. That means that text messaging, which is arguably the most common form of communication currently, is not something that older generations have relied on. Nowadays, younger buyers use texting and online chatting like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp to communicate with their Realtor. Because many people are sometimes too busy during the workweek to take phone calls, simple text messages can help move along the real estate process when it comes to setting up appointments or passing along smaller pieces of information. When picking a Realtor, see which ones are comfortable texting and working with your favorite method of communication.
More Options Presented
Years ago, people didn’t have the option of looking at homes all over the country through their smartphones. Instead, they had to rely on word of mouth, the newspaper, and what their real estate agent had in their back pocket. Today, the options are endless! You could read this post or even find realtors in every nook and corner trying to help you out in finding the best place to stay. With countless online databases for home listings, you can find homes in just about any part of the world. Not only that, you can find out large amounts of information about these houses and the neighborhoods they exist in. We live in an age where information is available in many forms and greatly affects how we sell and buy homes.
Highly Useful Technology
Not only do we have the internet to discover the wide variety of homes available, we also have apps and software that helps us get a better grip on the home buying process. Some of these tools allow us to prequalify for mortgages, view the interior and exterior of a home from your desktop, and find out your budget. Home affordability calculators, for example, use data like your salary, debt, and more to give you an idea of what type of house you can afford.
Economic Differences
Older generations have dealt with different types of economic strain than current generations do now. In today’s world, many millennials are struggling with high-student loan payments that make affording a home more difficult. Additionally, the wealth gap among people with a college education has grown wider over the past several decades, making it more difficult for those without a college degree to afford a home. These are just a few of the ways that current generations are being affected by the economy.
From the Silent Generation to the Millenial one, the way in which real estate operates is constantly evolving. As technology continues to advance and the economy fluctuates, we can expect to see the way we buy houses to look much different than it does now. We’ll just have to wait and see how!