5 Differences Between Mobile Home Renters | Baby Boomers vs Millennials

The social and economic landscape has changed dramatically over the last few decades. And people have too. This means that different generations sometimes have vastly different needs and desires when it comes to real estate.

As a landlord, you need to keep up to date on the changes to make the most out of your local market. 

Baby boomers and millennials are the two largest adult populations in the United States. That’s why we’re looking at the differences between tenants in these two generations.

1 – Buying vs. renting

An important thing to remember is that these generations are at entirely different points in their lives, and this will influence the decisions they make.

The affordable housing markets of earlier years meant that 45% of baby boomers bought their first home between the ages of 24 and 34. Today this is no longer the norm. So far, only 37% of millennials between the ages of 24 and 34 own homes.

There are several reasons for this. But one of the most significant is the millennials are less well-off than previous generations. They are more likely to have student debts and other financial strains. Therefore, they are less likely to take on a mortgage and more likely to look for rentals.

So all in all, baby boomers are more likely to own a home. But many of them are now reaching an age where they prefer to sell their property. As an alternative to this, members of this generation are moving into rental homes. 

As part of this trend, many of them are turning to mobile homes as a more affordable housing option for retirement. 

2 – Rental payment options

In previous decades, landlords mostly spared little thought for payment methods. Tenants usually paid in cash or checks. There just weren’t as many options available.

However, it is an entirely different story today. More and more ways to pay bills seem to pop up every day with most of them working on or through digital platforms.

Baby boomers prefer using credit cards or debit cards for payment with 80% of people aged 55 to 65 choosing this payment method. In stark contrast to this, 6 in 10 millennials don’t even own a credit card.

Instead, members of this generation prefer to use mobile payment systems.

Nowadays, it’s crucial for anyone trying to sell a product or service to diversify their payment options. Overall, it is also a smart choice for mobile home landlords to make.

3 – High-tech vs. low tech

As the first digital natives, millennials are far more likely to rely solely on technology when looking for real estate. In fact, 90% of millennials use technology to search for a new home. 

Besides this, they are more likely to use digital platforms to communicate about products and services. Statistics show that 44% of them use text messaging for this purpose, and 38% use social media and instant messaging.

Compare this to the 15% of boomers who will use text messaging in this way. And to the 11% who will use social media and only 8% who will use instant messaging.

So if you are a mobile home landlord, you will need to use a variety of platforms to reach and communicate with the different target groups.

4 – Owning pets

Do you know that millennials love pets?

Well, they really do. A whopping 73% of millennials are now pet owners according to the APPA. This means that they have now surpassed baby boomers in this respect as well.

A significant portion of both these groups own pets it is true. But it seems that far more millennials are putting the needs of their furkids first when it comes making choices like buying or renting a home.

For the foreseeable future, it would seem that pet-friendly real estate, including mobile homes, will be in demand.

5 – Eco-friendly

One of the commitments to ethical causes and the environment is fast appearing to be a defining feature of the millennial generation. They often base their lifestyles around making choices that fit these values.

Overall, this tendency is much stronger among them than any other generation, including baby boomers.

So what does this mean for mobile homes?

It means that millennials care about the impact their residence has on the environment. So they will prefer mobile homes that were built sustainably and can help them become more eco-friendly.

Overall, this was typically less of a concern for previous generations. But that is why the future of property and mobile housing, in particular, will probably look a bit greener.

Know your market

The mobile home industry is dynamic and exciting. As a growing market, there is more to learn every day. Whether you are interested in these properties as an investment opportunity or as a housing option, more knowledge is always beneficial.