My Reaction to an Offensive Realtor.com Article

I am absolutely irate at Realtor.com's (Erik Gunther, more specifically) nonsensical writing that provides no evidence, data, or statistical support to back-up his arguments regarding Millennials, which if you are in the age range of 15-35, you're included. The article is titled, "Here's Exactly What Millennials Want in Real Estate" and by no means does it go on to give fruitful and useful information that you would expect to be explained based on the  heading. Check it out for yourself and feel free to leave the outrage on their page: http://www.realtor.com/news/what-millennials-want-in-real-estate/ .

To begin, he states that us, "Millennials", desire homes in the suburbs as we are dreaming of the lives our parent's lived and making that our reality. To tell you the truth, I do want that, but that doesn't have anything to do with me longing to follow in my parent's foot steps; it means I would love to have a large yard, have a good amount of space between my next door neighbor and myself, while also having a place that I can picture raising kids. He continues, "Except, that is, for those who'd prefer to live downtown, in a large city. (Or a small city.) They're buying in Buffalo. But maybe they should consider San Antonio. Or Baltimore. Or Detroit.," and so on... You get the idea he is playing at by now, that our generation is somehow too picky or too indecisive. Does Generation X or the Baby Boomers have some people who prefer the city over the suburbs and vice versa? Clearly, everyone has preferences irregardless of the year we were born and I believe most of the time it comes down to personality type, values, and aspirations, among other things. An outgoing person may choose to live downtown to be around the action, the night-life, or the various stores/restaurants that are unique to downtown, maybe it's their passion for art and desire to be close to galleries and the art district. Or let's say they have a job downtown, would it not be reasonable or logical to say that this person will most likely choose to live in close proximity to their place of work?  Why is it then that Millenial's and their decisions are hard to nail down when it comes to real estate market, I'd say because it's never been realistic to stereotype such a wide age group that have various wants and needs to fit their individual lifestyle's ( as every generation can relate to that).

I am thoroughly enraged after I read this statement," ...Millenial's want to ditch the squaresville of suburbia and head for the city, it makes total sense because we know how much they love apartment living. They don't want the picket fences of their parents (or grandparents)." Let me just say, I have very few friends that live downtown and the ones that do, live there due to either being close to campus or close to work. Also, I HATE APARTMENT LIVING. I can't count how many conversation's I have had with friends, "Millennial's", that are sick of renting and feel like they are constantly throwing away money when they would much prefer to invest in a home and pay less each  month on a mortgage than on rent. So, I would ask, where did he get this information from? Where is the data stating that we LOVE apartment living? Maybe the majority of us live in apartments, but due to income staying constant while rent and living expenses sky rocket, we have had no other choice but to continue renting since we have had little opportunity to put money aside (especially the 20% for a down payment that was required). Many Millennial's are putting themselves through school, only to have to pay off exorbitant student loans with high interest rates, or to continue on to receive a higher education beyond just college, so that they can pursue the careers they want. I believe those are commendable aspirations to have, and meanwhile, we are making ends meet even as groceries and necessities spike in price, gas prices increase, and yet, some are supporting young, growing families or take on other financial commitments (like pets, car loans, etc).

We spend over 50% of our income or more on bills and rent. It is exceedingly high to rent where we are, and no, it's not downtown, it actually is within the suburbs! When I had the discussion with my parents and siblings who are 30 and older, I was warned to stay away from homeownership for as long as possible because of the expense of random repairs that are quite costly, as well as higher utility bills, and some of us within this age group don't know where we will end up in our careers a year from now. If Generation X and Baby Boomer's are advising us to put off buying a home until we have thought out every aspect of it, financially and career wise, then maybe he should remove the blame from the Millennial's and look at the older generations. Millennial's might not be taking the leap into buying a home because on an individual scale, it doesn't make sense for them at that time. We all remember what happened to the Market when a great deal of people made that jump, and couldn't afford the commitment they rushed into. The backlash of that is what the Millennial's grew up hearing about until only recently, with the market on a stable and steady rise throughout 2014, which has provided a more promising outlook on the year to come. This could be the year of the Millennial, with lower down-payment requirements and lower interest rates, it now is not only reasonable but it is a logical and wise decision to become a homeowner this year (as long as the financial situation allows it).

Instead of the reason behind Millennial's not entering the housing market being that we "wholeheartedly reject the American ideal of home buying," could it be that we have decided to pursue education,  put off marriage, and wait to have kids until later in our lives? Livescience.com states that the average age for women getting married is 27, while men are 29. Therefore the need to settle into a home and commit to such a large purchase isn't quite necessary until we reach this age, and yet many people are waiting to get married until their 30's. Partly in response to many of us growing up in homes with divorced parents, whom married at a very young age, I think it is only natural for people to decide to put it off until they settle into careers, get through college/ master's programs/ doctorate program's, and are ready to put time and effort into making a relationship work. In 2003, the average age of a woman having her first-child was 25 and considering the decrease in teen pregnancies and the notion that this age group is tending to wait to make life- altering decisions until later in life, I would guess that the average age has gone up since that data was collected. The decision to hold off on home-buying has a lot to do with these other concepts, more so than it has to do with Millennial's being picky or indecisive.

If you weren't completely irritated with this unjustly attack on an entire generation, this might take you over the edge, Erik states, "...Millennials are actually a money-obsessed generation that wants nice things but doesn't want to work for them." Tell that to my boyfriend who works from 7am-7pm every day during the week, and 8am-12pm every Saturday (besides one Saturday a month). "Or maybe they're staying on the sidelines because they're cheap," well when you consider the fact that a mortgage payment is considerably less than rent, this statement just doesn't have any sense to it, "Or perhaps they're just opting to wait to buy a home because they're extremely risk averse," all in thanks to having learned our lessons from the generation's before us and the crisis' we have witnessed, such as the poor economy that left countless number's of people jobless or the housing market crash, that left many people homeless and bankrupt. He doesn't stop there, as he mocks our inclination to DIY (and why wouldn't you if you are capable? I enjoy DIY as a hobby, no shame in that) which he then ridicules by saying, "after murdering one of the nation's largest retailers in cold blood, millennial men will just laugh and laugh sitting on their enormous pile of money", I must be blind because I have yet to see this pile of money and demand to know where I may stumble upon it! Erik continues on the track of belittling all people who happen to be 15-35 years of age (even though only 22-35 year olds are within the realm of having the ability to buy a house), by saying, "They have no savings? Not even a thin dime?" I am not sure if he understands that although prices for almost everything have increased, our wages have stayed the same, meaning the money we would save is now being spent on groceries as we try to live healthier lives by eating organically or spending the extra dollar to buy locally to support our local businesses since we are "socially aware" (which he uses negatively earlier in the article) and on other products that are essential to live.

I hope by now that you share the same level of frustration as me, even if you aren't a Millennial. In my opinion, this is where he totally dives down the deep end and I am going to quote the last paragraph or so of his article, so bare with me and try not to grit your teeth too much. Here you go: "...Wherever they land, there's still hope for the next generation. Failing that whole hope thing, they can just kiss the American dream goodbye- because they won't be able to achieve it thanks to bad credit, student loans, and low salaries. On second thought, if their lips are tired from all that smooching, they may actually be ready to break down, reach out, and actually embrace the dream of homeownership. And when they're done embracing the dream, they can quit casting a pall over the housing market for the rest of us. Whether it's their lack of trust in real estate or they're bucking the trend and choosing buying over renting, we know we'll always be able to point the finger of blame directly at millennial's." (Erik Gunther of Realtor.com) 

First off, I was unaware of a trend in buying, the last quarter of 2014 showed a decrease in sales compared to the rest of the year but that is a pretty normal curve during winter months. Seasonal effects are common, and it doesn't help that the most expensive holiday's falls in that time frame with a large amount of money being put towards gifts. He is definitely jumping the gun by blaming millennial's for not picking up the slack these last couple months, when we are only into the second month of 2015.Secondly,  instead of the  bad lending practices (or other responsible institutions) being blamed, it is all of our faults as millennial's even though the older end of our generation partook in  the steady climb of the market by purchasing homes in the last year or so. The lack of trust was created by poor practices in institutions that were not out to protect our interests, but solely their own. The trust they lost is being rehabilitated and mended, slowly and cautiously, by responsible, reliable, and honorable professionals, as expected. The decision to buy a home isn't a simple one, and it certainly has nothing to do with us saying "forget homeownership, let's rent the rest of our lives" or because we are lip-locked with stars in our eyes. His argument and his article can only create a larger divide between Millennial's and professional's in the real estate market, including lenders considering that even I feel hostile towards this person and those that may share his ludicrous opinion, and I am a fellow real estate agent (assuming that is his position). Go ahead and point the finger at us, but with 2015 projections showing an increase in Millennial's entering into homeownership and a successful year ahead of us in terms of real estate- I have to wonder where he conjured up such preposterous  claims, and how reliable his sources were.

This year is our year, Millennial's, and I know we won't let this debbie-downer's trivial argument stand true. Words of wisdom: it is best to not speak (or write) purely out of emotional reactions, especially those based on insufficient evidence, or in this case based on discriminate opinion.  For a wise man once said,  "The interest I have to believe a thing is no proof that such a thing exists," (Voltaire).