Millennials in New Jersey are waiting longer to buy houses

Millennials are both growing up and moving out! According to a new report from the National Association of Realtors, nationwide home sales jumped 5.9% in February which is the strongest they've been since April 2010. The reason for the increase, they say, is the rise in first time home buying by millennials.

That's not what Robert Dekanski of Remax 1st Advantage is seeing. "When I started my career 15 years ago, working with millennials and helping them find homes was my specialty, I worked heavily with buyers and the majority of them were in their early to late twenties," Rob goes on to say. "The buyers we meet today," says Dekanski "tend to be older and further along in life and while they still qualify as a millennial, they are on the tall end of that range."

It wasn't always that way. "It wasn't uncommon for us to take a young couple fresh out of college and find them a home. Today it seems like they are in their late twenties and early thirties."

Dekanski says buyers today are waiting longer. "We can attribute that to several factors. The job market still isn't where we'd like to see it, causing more kids to fall into the 'Boomerang Generation.' That's where they leave home for college then end up right back with their parents."

Millennials also aren't as reticent to settle down as Dekanski says. "Kids today seem to want to be more mobile, buying a home anchors them down and a lot of them want flexibility."

"Lastly," Dekanski says, "it seems millennials are getting married and starting families later making a home less attractive and a one bedroom apartment the logical choice until they settle down."

"Home ownership is still a long term and great investment but we find millennials waiting much longer before making the large commitment that comes with purchasing a piece of real estate."

Anxiety from student loans, unsettled employment situations, and the desire to be unattached have kept millennials from buying in the past but some sites are predicting things will turn around this year. In fact both Zillow and Realtor.com estimate that millennials will soon make up 33% of the market with boomers making up 30%.

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