A new breed of young millennials and older Gen Z are buying homes and it seems they are coming well-prepared. The Swiggy-Uber-Instagram generation is not only anticipating their future needs for a home, they are educating themselves on homebuying, the best interest rates and ideal neighbours. Driven by technology, they use social media to their benefit and keep an eye out for clean over-the-counter deals and sustainable living features. They are happy to move to peripheral zones of metros, to afford bigger and better spaces. Quality of life, accessibility to amenities and the space to work from home are central concerns.
A house for Nilu Thapa
A house is something one yearns for and earns for. It was no different for social media influencer Nilu Thapa, 34, better known by her provocative Instagram handle Big Hair Loud Mouth. A native of Darjeeling, Thapa stayed back in Bengaluru after her college to make the city her home. In 2020, 15 years later, she took the bold step to put a good chunk of her savings into her dream home. “The thought of buying a home did not strike me till COVID happened. That’s when I felt insecure, and I thought I needed a roof over my head so no landlord can throw me out.” Thapa intentionally stayed away from the heart of the city, which is overcrowded. Instead, she bought a 3BHK apartment in a north side township, an area she feels familiar with, 20 minutes from Kammanahalli.
Nilu Thapa
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However, the process was arduous. Getting a home loan was not easy as she runs her own firm and IT employees are preferred. Additionally, the paperwork and handover from the builder took a year and a half. She designed the apartment to her specific requirements, which is now equipped to shoot limited content for her social media, and houses her extensive wardrobe as a fashion influencer. Thapa is proud of her achievement, especially as a woman, to have bought and completely designed her own home, complete with statement kitchen. Thapa believes that thanks to real estate prices soaring post-pandemic, her generation would prefer renting over buying.
Feeling light
More than homes with smart technology, the millennials including Nilu Thapa say they like green spaces, lots of ventilation and light and more open plans. Each has specific requirements of work from home depending on their profession.
Shapers of property ecosystems
“Millennials in particular understand that it’s very important to have a space for themselves,” says Saurabh Vohara, CEO and founder of ALYF, a smart ownership platform for holiday homes. He points out several rising trends.
Saurabh Vohara
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New job opportunities and Employee Stock Ownership Plans have increased wealth creation, and with technology accelerating processes, millennials consider real estate a major investment. The younger generation looks for larger homes, preferring a 2BHK or a 1.5 BHK, with the intention of working from home. Millennials desire structured information and pricing, and developers are now invested in doing clean deals, where the costs are clear and no cash is involved. The entire search pattern has changed and, from discovery and shortlisting, much of the journey is online till the site visit and closure. “Overall, the ecosystem is getting evolved and has become a lot more structured and streamlined. Cities are also growing to support peripheral areas with better infrastructure development, road and Metro connectivity. Millennials do not mind travelling. They come from Tier II cities to settle on the outskirts of Tier 1 cities,” says Vohara.
ANAROCK, a real estate consulting firm, has published studies showing the increasing percentages of Gen Z (18-25 years old) and millennials (26-41) who prefer buying over renting. ANAROCK’s surveys indicate that 33% of the total property seekers were aged within 25-35 years. Hyderabad and Pune had the highest number of property seekers at 55% and 45% respectively, aged within 25-35 years among all cities including metros. The typical budget for mid and premium segment properties is in the range of ₹40 lakhs to ₹1.5 crore, and luxury properties from ₹1.5 to ₹2.5 crore.
Anuj Puri
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“Developers are keenly aware of the importance of this new customer segment and go out of their way to accommodate them in every respect, increasingly ramping up health and lifestyle-related amenities to cater to the millennial mindset,” says Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK Group.
“They have also been paying heed to the needs and aspirations of tech-savvy millennials by adding more smart home features and an overall tech-enabled environment. Apartments are being configured for home offices and e-schooling rooms. The market is now catering squarely to millennial homebuyers, and doing everything it can to ease their homeownership journey.”
Room for socialising
The regular office made a hasty exit during and post pandemic, ushering work-from-home scenarios with millennials driving this mindset. “If the hermetic 9-to-5 office dies, I really have no problem as an urban designer,” declares Mukul Arora, Principal, DADA & Partners. Arora, who was the lead master planner for the award-winning project Godrej Riverhills (a mixed-use waterfront neighbourhood in Mahalunge, Pune) talks about the evolution of urban design.
Mukul Arora
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“In early 2000s USA, the term ‘cappuccino urbanism’ sprung up, which referred to city development happening around coffee shops. We had, until then, been segregating cities as marketplaces, places of work and bedroom communities. The city experience is once again changing. There’s always been talk about brick and mortar stores dying out and the virtual world becoming more important. Yet, millennials like socialising and desire multiple ‘go-to’ places and urban amenities. It’s taken us nearly 100 years to realise that mixed use is important, and creating highly energised public spaces appeal to diverse users. Millennials enjoy this healthy and inclusive way of life. They care about sustainability and align with these ‘urban’ values,” says Arora.
Influencer advantage
When ALYF launched holiday home shares with a budget of ₹13 lakhs per share (each apartment had eight shares) in Goa, their product was sold within two months. Of the buyers, 33% were millennials, a very encouraging number, says Vohara. “This is a big influencer category, and they are extremely well connected. If they buy, their friends and parents will buy. They understand finances, how to manage money and the power of compounding. The most important thing is their predictability in the way they think.” Companies should focus on group bookings and organise financial options as the younger generation is much more open to loans and EMIs, says Vohara. “Typically they would do 80% finance and 20% down payments, with a 15 or 20-year home loan.”
They also enjoy working with professionals. Delhi architect Anshul Kapoor, 32, is on the verge of completing a family home, where the 28-year-old son is the primary client. “His parents gave him the mandate to make all decisions regarding building, and he gave me complete freedom to design.” While the older generation tends to be particular and garner many opinions, Kapoor says the young generation takes time to pick the right architect, but trusts their professional decisions. If the prospect of homeownership seems daunting for many, perhaps one should let some of these early buyers show us how it’s done.
The writer is a brand strategist with a background in design from SAIC and NID.
