by: The KCM Crew 5/31/17

If you’ve entered the real estate
market, as a buyer or a seller, you’ve inevitably heard the real estate mantra,
“location,
location, location” in reference to how identical homes can increase
or decrease in value due to where they’re located. Well, a new survey shows
that when it comes to choosing a real estate agent, the millennial generation’s
mantra is, “local, local, local.” CentSai, a financial
wellness online community, recently surveyed
over 2,000 millennials (ages 18-34) and found that 75% of respondents
would use a local real estate agent over an online agent, and 71%
would choose a local lender. Survey respondents cited many reasons for their
choice to go local, “including personal touch & handholding,
longstanding relationships, local knowledge, and amount of hassle.” Doria
Lavagnino, Cofounder & President of CentSai had this to
say: “We were surprised to learn that online providers are not yet as big a
disruptor in this sector as we first thought, despite purported cost savings.
We found that millennials place a high value on the personal touch and
knowledge of a local agent. Buying a home for the first time is daunting, and
working with a local agent—particularly an agent referred by a parent or
friend—could provide peace of mind.” The findings of the CentSai
survey are consistent with the Consumer
Housing Trends Study, which found that millennials prefer a
more hands-on approach to their real estate experience: “While older
generations rely on real estate agents for information and expertise,
Millennials expect real estate agents to become trusted advisers and strategic
partners.” When it comes to choosing an agent, millennials and other
generations share their top priority: the sense that an agent is
trustworthy and responsive to their needs. That said, technology still
plays a huge role in the real estate process. According
to the National Association of Realtors, 95% of home buyers look for
prospective homes and neighborhoods online, and 91% also said they would use an
online site or mobile app to research homes they might consider purchasing. Bottom
Line Many wondered if this tech-savvy generation would prefer to work
with an online agent or lender, but more and more studies show that when it
comes to real estate, millennials want someone they can trust, someone who
knows the neighborhood they want to move into, leading them through the entire
experience
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