Why Generation Y?
May 25, 2008
We (Gen Y) don’t read newspapers. Snail-mail? Forget about it. What’s a LAN line? I have a Blackberry. Why call me? Send me a Facebook Message instead, or better yet, send me a Tweet. By the way, did you see that video on YouTube? It rocks! The guy did the thing in the place…you know which one I am talking about!
We are who we are. We can’t help it. I am sorry, but we won’t change. YOU must adapt to serve us. It is simple. Don’t act young, be young, be technological, transparent, know what you are talking about.
Generation Y, which I am proudly a member of, is different. As demonstrated above, we are not your typical client. But guess what! We buy houses too. Want our business? Communicate with us HOW we want to be communicated with!
Long are the days of cold calling us, IF you can find our phone number (more than likely we only have a cell phone that does more than most people’s computer).
Being armed with this, how does the average Real Estate Agent get through to us? It’s quite simple, but first, why would you want to get through to us?
Generation Y started with the first births of 1983. At the present, they would be 25 years old at the oldest. Growing up with computers in the classroom, AOL Instant Messenger, and progressive technologies, we have grown with them. They are a part of our life and we utilize them as much as we can.
By most ‘older’ people’s standards, we are socially stunted. We don’t talk anymore. We send SMS messages across the room while we could easily just speak. We send messages on Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Our lives are open on the Internet speaking some of our darkest secrets in front of millions of people.
So Mr. Real Estate Agent, you want to work with a member of the infamous Gen Y. God bless you, but hold on to your hat! It might be a bumpy ride for you.
We need our hands held through a transaction. Our parents always did everything for us. We think we are always right; after all, we always got a Trophy in every sport we played in, even if we were horrible. So praise us, hold our hand. We live for this.
WHY do you need Gen Y clients? We are the future. Today we are buying houses. We hold technology jobs that start at $100k a year. We can buy houses. We want to buy a house, it feels safe. We are open to you working with us.
Most importantly: We do not have friends in the Real Estate Business. We think of our parents’ friends who may be a Real Estate Agent as outdated, old. Why would we want them to help us buy a house? Can they even text message us when we get a counter offer? We are busy, without time for a phone call.
Still want to work with Generation Y? Good. We are the future.
Real Estate Agents often hear of Social Media such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and several other sites. Why is Gen Y on these social media platforms? I don’t know…but we are nosey and like to know everyone’s business. So get on there. Lay out your information. Don’t broadcast us a message. Don’t you dare do that! We want to feel important, send us an individual message.
If we are thinking about purchasing a house, we more than likely have been looking for a while on the Internet. Are your houses on Zillow? Trulia? Oh, you’re on Realtor.com, great…
Profiles are important. Does your profile on different Social Media or Real Estate websites still state “Post Your Information Here?” Well, I am going on to the next Real Estate Agent with his picture, bio, videos, and the fact that I can contact him in a thousand different ways without hearing his voice.
Do you have an email address and website? Do you check your email? Once a day, maybe twice? Good luck! Generation Y wants instant gratification. More than likely we have emailed about 10 other people. At least one of their Blackberries buzzed signaling a message. The early bird got the worm.
To sum it all up, working with a Generation Y client will either be the easiest transaction you have ever done, or it will be the hardest. And never say LOL. Please.
About the Author:
Hunter Jackson is a licensed Real Estate Agent with Exit Realty serving Greater Columbia SC.
Proudly part of Generation Y, Hunter is just finishing up his first year of real estate at the age of 23. Firmly believing that the only way to sell a house is through marketing, Hunter focuses his areas of expertise on targeted demographics. Focusing on young families needing single family homes, Hunter takes his marketing to the internet through his Columbia SC Real Estate Blog and via Social Media.
Gladly, Hunter spends his time learning all he can about real estate firmly believing that Great agents are not born, they are trained. In addition to Real Estate, Hunter's passions involve Exotic Animals, primarily African Tortoises.
You can reach Hunter via phone at 803.609.5214 or his Columbia SC Real Estate Blog at http://www.ColumbiaSCRealEstateHomes.com
You can also email Hunter at nhjacksonrealty@gmail.com.
[...] My first post is all about how Real Estate Agents can deal with the Generation Y Client. [...]
Excellent post, Hunter! All I have to say is, it’s a good thing we’re not the typical “traditional” agents. While we are both Boomers, my wife and I prefer to be known as members of the “StompernNet” generation. Being associated with Brad Fallon, Andy Jenkins and Don Crowther, among others, has given us a solid foundation and knowledge of all those technologies that Gen Y’ers hold so dear. To wit:
We are active on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and a few other social networks as well.
We regularly post to Twitter using Twhirl, TwitterFox or Alert Thingy, depending on what we have open at the time. We have a web site and a blog that we post to as often as we can when we’re not busy selling houses.
Our listings are syndicated to many different web sites: ZIllow, Trulia, Oodle, Craig’s List, BackPage, Vast, Kijiji, Google Base, LiveDeal and of course, Realtor.com, to name a few, as well as posted in our blog and sent out through TwitterFeed and posted in the Facebook Marketplace and CribFinder.
We are happy to say that not only do we serve many of our contemporaries, we are also proud to be able to serve their children as well. Several of our transactions this year have involved Gen Y’ers and X’ers and we expect to do so for years to come.
So, while I agree that we “oldtimers” need to embrace the chosen techologies of the next generations, There are some of us who get it, and are already there. Gen Y may be the future, but there’s room there for us, too.
Thanks again for a great post!
[...] http://www.realestateradiousa.com/blog/2008/05/25/why-generation-y/ [...]
Wayne,
Thanks for your comment!
I agree that many, as you call them not me, ‘old timers’ are embracing the wave of change. It is important that we do point this out.
[...] am new to Real Estate. I just finished up my first year in March. Let me re-phrase, I am a baby to Real Estate, a sponge soaking up every piece of knowledge I can get. I have had sales jobs before but never had [...]
[...] am new to Real Estate. I just finished up my first year in March. Let me re-phrase, I am a baby to Real Estate, a sponge soaking up every piece of knowledge I can get. I have had sales jobs before but never had [...]
Hunter,
Great eye-opening post for the “older” agents. I’m going to get as many agents as I can to read this.
Thank you!