Our agents are fielding a lot of questions lately about three particular classes of buyers that sellers are intrigued by—millennials, the affluent, and foreign buyers, specifically the Chinese.
Millennials
According to RIS Media, millennials now comprise 32 percent of homebuyers and are the largest sector of buyers in the market today. Sellers are skeptical about millennials for good reason: The average millennial is more likely to rent than buy. This mobile and globally minded generation wants the ability to pick up and move as opportunities to experience life present. Many carry significant student loan debt, are reluctant to take on more debt, and are getting married later. Boulder ranked #30 on Niche's 2016 list of Best Cities for Millennials in America (Denver was #8). When they are ready, these buyers bring all of their technology tools to the home-buying process and do a lot of their own internet research, so listing with an agent that can guarantee a robust online presence is critical for today’s seller hoping to reach this demographic.
The Affluent
Worldwide personal wealth continues to grow, increasing from $254 trillion to $267 trillion from 2014 to 2015, according to the Credit Suisse Global Wealth Report. Today’s high net worth individuals look for properties that enhance their ability to experience life the way they want it. According to Luxury Portfolio International®, for most buyers, “the primary residence serves many purposes: it is a comfortable refuge from the day, a place to entertain guests, a place to raise successful children, and, ideally, an investment that pays off in the long run.” Preferring quality over brand name, luxury consumers believe that independent brokers (versus franchises) provide better service, train their agents better, and have deeper local connections than their franchise counterparts. Demand for luxury properties continues to increase; year-to-date over 2015, the number of properties priced at $1 million and above in Boulder and Broomfield has grown over 24 percent through October 2016.
Foreign Buyers
Buyers from China represent 14 percent of all foreign purchasers in the US. The National Association of REALTORS® estimates that this activity will total $27.3 billion in U.S. real estate sales in 2016. Chinese buyers are looking online at our Boulder area high-end listings. Through Luxury Portfolio International’s® proprietary LuxeAnalytics™ program, we see that 14.3 percent of all non-US visitors viewing our WK Real Estate luxury listings are from China, with visits increasing every month. 70 percent of Chinese buyers indicate that education is important, and that opportunities for self-employment are the #1 reason to relocate to the U.S., hitting on two key attributes of the Boulder area. We have great public schools and a major university—CU Boulder ranks in the top 100 on U.S. News and World Report’s lists for both national universities and high school counselor rankings. And in part thanks to CU, Livability.com just named Boulder #1 on their list of Best Cities for Entrepreneurs.