Getting to Know Gen Y
Written by Laura Oakes /Forget formal living spaces and big yards. Bring on the charging stations and home office/laundry rooms. How Generation Y is shaping the future of design.
What they don’t want: Formal living and dining rooms, big yards to mow, clutter and long commutes. What they do want: small, manageable spaces, fire pits, charging stations and a workplace within walking or biking distance. “They” are “Generation Y”, aka the “Millennials.” And home builders, designers and marketers are watching them very closely, considering they are 80 million strong –an even larger generation than the Baby Boomers.
Millennials were born roughly between 1980 and the early 2000’s. In today's economy, those at the older end of the spectrum tend to have high college debt loads and shakier job prospects than the Gen X'ers before them. Most say they would like to own a home, but not if it at all resembles their McMansion-dwelling parents’ homes. They want homes that are small, low-maintenance, affordable, energy efficient and wired to the hilt. And they’re finding them through social networking and the smart phones never absent from their hands.
Millennials who can afford it are not afraid to renovate an older home, and are expected to become the largest share of the DIY market in the coming years. But that home needs to fit their lives and not consume it, with flexible spaces and eco-friendly materials. And the yard? Ideally, it would be small, or better yet, nonexistent. Even a simple patio or fire pit will suffice. For when it comes to these young adults who grew up sprinting from soccer to swimming to French class to chess club, they are ready to simplify, not be over-scheduled for the first time in their lives, relax and spend time with friends. And those wanting to design, build, and sell things to them are clearly taking notice.
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