Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Millenial homeowners in the 30-34 year old age bracket are twice as likely to take out a home equity loan as baby boomers, according to a new survey by the Discover Home Equity Loans organization, which quizzed more than 1,500 people.
“Home owners who have built equity in their homes have the opportunity to leverage their financial asset to help them pay down debt, update their home or pay for major expenses,” said TJ Freeborn, director of operations strategy for Discover Home Equity Loans.
However, millennials are more likely to use the equity built up in their homes as a source of emergency cash, with 42 percent admitting to doing so, compared to just 14 percent of baby boomers. Still, home remodels and debt consolidation remain the most common uses for home equity loans within all age groups, the survey found.
Different generations also display a difference in the way they view their homes. More millennials (27 percent) tend to see their homes as a financial asset that can be sold to make money than baby boomers (14 percent). Meanwhile, roughly a quarter of millennials see their home as an investment property, compared to just seven percent of baby boomers.
Millennials also take a different approach to assessing the value of their homes. Whereas most baby boomers use real estate agents or banks to value their homes, a good proportion of millennials (39 percent) turn to friends or family when valuing their home. Other popular sources include a financial adviser (38 percent), or some kind of banking, financial or real estate-related website (34 percent).
