Camden isn’t the only company seeing this trend. Seven or eight years ago, Lange says there was higher traffic at BRE’s properties. But today’s visitors are ready to make a decision. And 40 percent of that traffic is coming from the Internet. That’s not surprising, considering that 86 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds regularly use the Internet, according to the Pew study.
With the Internet and social networks at their disposal, millennials want a deal. “They grew up with the Internet,” Pol says. “Their whole notion of how they get information and how they disseminate information is very different.” Indeed, more than half of Gen Yers have used social networking sites in the past, and four out of 10 have created a personal profile page, according to the Pew study.
In places such as Florida, the information available to Gen Y renters online can actually play havoc with traditional multifamily owners. The amount of shadow properties available to people on Craigslist in supply soaked Florida is astounding. Gen Yers know that. Tech- and research-savvy Gen Yers are able to easily find shadow rentals. And owners and managers in the shadow market are often more likely to negotiate. “We’re seeing a lot more competition in rental business than just apartments,” Witten says.
But it’s more difficult for the leasing staff at a large REIT, for instance, to barter with millennials. “We’re not in a position where we can get into that kind of negotiation, typically,” Selindh says.
True, the bigger companies may not have as much pricing flexibility as shadow owners, but they usually have the better amenities. Gen Y expects these extras—maybe more than they can afford. Oltersdorf says they are accustomed to amenities such as tanning beds, fitness centers, gaming rooms, private bathrooms for every bedroom, and plasma televisions.
So how do apartment owners appeal to a generation that wants everything but really doesn’t want to be sold to? There are a number of ways. “Merchandising, marketing, and advertising have to be fresh and attractive enough to catch the eye of that age group,” Selindh says.
People are looking at technological solutions as well. Apartments.com is trying to reach Gen Y’s mobile phones by texting them property info and allowing them to surf its site with a mobile browser. The approach makes sense: the Pew survey reports that about half of Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 received a text message in the past 24 hours. In fact, BRE installed a 24/7 call service to answer the 25 percent to 30 percent of inquiries that Lange says come from online leads.
Meanwhile, Wang says landlords and marketers who expect Gen Yers to give up their cell numbers should be wary. “Not everyone has unlimited texting,” Wang says. “That’s really annoying that it’s using up your money and clogging up your in-box. I hate having to delete those texts.”
AIMCO invested in its Web site to reach Gen Y renters. “It’s a way of allowing a deeper connection that’s less spun,” Adler says. “There’s obviously a distrust of anything artificial, manufactured, or commercial.”
This sense of distrust, however, may be unfounded. Given the amount of debt shouldered by Gen Yers—plus their penchant for technology (86 percent of 18- to 25-year-olds say they regularly use the Internet)—Pol of the University of Nebraska–Omaha thinks they’re not as averse to commercialism as conventional wisdom dictates. “When you start looking at their behavior, and what they’re buying and using in terms of technology, it’s hard to make the argument that they’re shy about consumerism,” Pol explains.
Finally, there are the parents. In some cases, parents are cosigners. Even, if the parents aren’t the cosigners, it’s very likely they’ll have some sort of role in the decision-making process. “Parents are becoming a key part of the marketing and leasing process, even for post-college adults,” Campus Apartments’ Oltersdorf says.
BRE, for one, isn’t just revamping the ways it sells online. It’s also looking at how its leasing agents work. “There’s a much heavier emphasis on sales,” Lange says. “Most traffic was coming to the door. There was always the sales aspect, but it was mainly order-taking.”
Combat that with follow-through, Pol says. “You win their trust by doing [not] by telling them something. They trust you when you deliver,” he says. “Yes, they’re skeptical, but it does not take a heroic effort to earn their trust.”
BY THE NUMBERS Generation Y has long been coveted by apartment owners. But what are the real factors affecting this demographic? The numbers are telling.
Individuals born between 1977 and 1994:
74.8 million
SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
Gen Y’s purchasing power:
$200 billion
SOURCE: RESOURCES INTERACTIVE
No. of fewer employed persons ages 16 to 29 as of Jan. 2008 (vs. Jan. 2007):
760K
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
2007 unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds:
8.2%
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
Median credit card debt of undergraduate students:
$1,000
SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Gen Yers with more than $10,000 in student loans:
~40%
SOURCE: HARRIS INTERACTIVE
18- to 25-year-olds who see their parents daily:
50%
SOURCE: THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER FOR PEOPLE AND THE PRESS
