Millennials and Multifamily

I've heard a lot lately about how millennials can't afford to purchase a home.  Homes are back to pre-recession prices and wages aren't keeping pace.  They can't come up with the $20,000 down payment for a $200,000 "starter home."  There isn't affordable housing anymore!  Banks aren't as lenient and have strict guidelines in place.  Most millennials are simply living paycheck to paycheck, just trying to pay off student loans and still afford vegan cheese.



Plus millennials might not want to buy anyway!  They don't like to be tied down.  Millennial commitment phobes want freedom!  They are also missing the handyman gene.  Millennials don't know how to make small home repairs, so there is the added expense of having to call someone every time the toilet needs a new stopper.  Millennials are also more progressive than past generations.  They want to live in trendy, cool, cultural neighborhoods that no one can afford, let alone someone in their 20s.

"Based on his estimates, the overall homeownership rate will fall to just 60.8 percent by 2025, the lowest since the mid-1950s." - cnbc

So how can multifamily investors help?  We have an obligation to create space for young individuals and families to succeed.  How about buying property in not-so-hot areas and make it a thriving, creative, happy, promising area?  We can rehab these neighborhoods and towns, solve problems and attract young families.  We have the power to do good in the Carolinas!  We transform a zip code and therefore change lives.  There is a demand for creative and safe housing from millennials.

If you ARE a millennial, think about purchasing a duplex!  You can find them in the Carolinas for as little as $30,000 (must have that "handyman gene") up to $250,000+ for a move-in ready place.  The benefit is that your renter will pay your mortgage while allowing you to build capital.  Yes, there might be a headache here and there, a knock in the middle of the night about a leak, but you can do it!  Multifamily real estate holds its value too! Remember the Andrew Carnegie statement that "ninety-nine percent of all millionaires become so through owning real estate."