Manufactured Homebuyer Preferences by Generation
Today’s modern manufactured homes will meet the criteria for “everything a home should be,” offering quality, value, safety, amenities, energy efficiency and appearance; and will have a cost up to 50% less than a comparable custom site-built home, and is the perfect choice for all age generations across the U.S.
That being said, the following is a recap of each relatable profile that manufactured housing will address.
(Defining generational groups by birth dates is subjective as loosely defined below, ultimately opinions vary on when generations begin and end.)
Generation Z – Born between 1998 and 2015, we don’t know much about Gen Z attitudes and their preferences about homeownership..we do know a lot about the highly diverse environment they are growing up in. Gen Z kids will grow up within a highly sophisticated media and technological environment and will be more internet savvy than their millennial predecessors. Gen Zers have surpassed millennials as the largest generational group in the world population, (Gen Z is 20% of Brazil’s population, for example.)
In a survey by Homes.com, forty-six percent of Gen Z buyers who are beginning to enter the home market prefer single-family homes over townhomes (7%), multi-family units (5%), condominiums and (37%) don’t know.
Interesting to note from that survey is that indoor/outdoor entertainment space and open interior designs top the list of desired home features with 44% looking for rooms that flow into one another. The preferences are similar to those also voiced by the next generation – millenials.
Millennials – Born between 1980 and 1997, this generation is by far the largest population of first-time home buyers for the sixth consecutive year. Recent estimates that around 52% of all those considering purchase of a home will be first-time home buyers.
Since 2017, a startling 96% of all millennial home buyers have searched online when buying a home, including discovering the advantages of manufactured homes represented here at ManufacturedHomes.com
Generation X – Born 1968-1982, sometimes called “empty nesters”, Gen Xers are between the ages of 40 and 54 with approximately 82 million individuals in the U.S. According to a study by Foremost Insurance Company, the average manufactured home owner is 49.9 years old.
Housing preferences are similar to millennials, although Gen Xers are more apt to already own a home, many of whom want a different size of home than what they currently have.
Many who put their traditional home on the market do so to reap the financial benefits from returns expected from today’s over inflated home prices. Many are seeking to downsize without downgrading. Purchasing a modern manufactured home is the ideal housing choice that meets those criteria.
Baby Boomers – Born 1949 – 1967 and Seniors also known as the Silent Generation – born before 1948 – The National Association of Realtors confirmed in an extensive study of prospective homebuyers that seniors and baby boomers are looking to downsize to homes with less than 1900 square feet.
Manufactured homes continue to remain the number one housing option for seniors retiring from the workplace. In fact, the greater portion of households that live in manufactured homes are headed by a retiree (32%) than site-built homes (24%), as per CFPB Analysis of Consumer Finances Survey. Baby Boomers are perhaps the biggest advocates of manufactured home ownership and tend to be very involved in encouraging other seniors and friends to join in this lifestyle.
