Okay, so it’s not really a takeover. But chances are, you’re starting to see signs of this changing HOA demographic with more and more millennials moving into your HOA.
Millennials are sometimes called Generation Y: those who reached adulthood around the turn of the 21st century. Millennials will represent the largest group of American home buyers in 2017, at 33%, and many will turn to HOAs to make home ownership a better fit for their lifestyle. This is a good thing for your community, but this new HOA demographic can change the way you manage.
Communication
Millennials grew up with technology that us old fogies had to learn as adults. This technology drives communication and just about everything else. Your beautiful newsletter, for example, makes a really good coaster — until it gets recycled.
Millennials are multi-taskers, with communication that fits seamlessly into their lives: waiting in line, riding the train, 5-minute work-breaks. To keep up with the changing demographics in your HOA, you must do the same. From announcements to CC&Rs, you’re better off to do everything online. The good news is, since they’re always connected, those messages tend to get through.
(And if you’re worried about missing out on other demographics, don’t sweat it. 87% of 50-64 year-olds, and 64% of adults 65+ are online, too.)
Expectations
According to Zillow, the average first-time buyer rents for 6 years first. Having been on their own for a while, it makes sense that their expectations of HOA life might be a little higher. People who rent, for example, are used to having maintenance taken care of. When they’re ready to buy, they seek out HOAs because they don’t want to deal with those issues. In short, they move into managed communities not in spite of the HOA, but because of it.
As a manager, you need to make sure prospective buyers understand where HOA responsibilities end and theirs begin. Clear rules and effective communication are your best bets for keeping millennials — and everyone else — comfortable and happy.
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Great blog with some eye-opening statistics, and so true!
I am a millennial who is entering her third year of service on an HOA board. The comic is hilarious and I can’t wait to share with my neighbors.
I love my management company. They also have an AOL.com email address. I think they practice a form of wizardry unknown to me because they keep up with our requests without a zendesk style help desk system.
Hi Sirinya. Awesome! I have a feeling that we’re about to see more younger folk on HOA boards, because in my experience Millennials are more passionate about getting involved and affecting positive change than previous generations. I think that’s great.
Also, kudos to your management company. Not many could pull that off. In fact, already many businesses have been forced to adapt standard technologies or risk being left in the dust by more nimble competitors.
“Millennials are sometimes called Generation Y: those who reached adulthood around the turn of the 21st century. ”
So I guess I’m a Millenial? I think that definition is a tad off
Hi RC. Typically Millennials are defined even more broadly than “those who reached adulthood around the turn of the 21st century”. From wikipedia: “demographers and researchers typically use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years.”
Here’s another definition: “anywhere from the mid-1970s when the oldest were born to the mid-2000s when the youngest were.”
Reference: https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/03/here-is-when-each-generation-begins-and-ends-according-to-facts/359589/
So if you legally became an adult in the year 2000 (born in 1988), then yes, you would definitely be considered a Millennial.
I find it interesting that many who fall in this category despise being labeled in any way. They are definitely different from previous generations (not necessarily better or worse). We need to recognize the differences and be ready for them.
Managing the expectations of a generation that is not so easily “managed” is an interesting challenge that I enjoy seeing Community Managers overcome. Millennial’s appreciate having information readily available and accessible at their fingertips. I wouldn’t doubt that many of them sit at the closing table and surf the HOA website prepping their list of inquiries for their exciting new community and home. Yet, how many are dismayed at the lack thereof? Worse yet, how many find the not-so-fun commentary on other social media outlets instead?
I would suggest this – put on your ‘New Home Closing’ hat and run through what you’d want to know if you were moving into a new community. Set up a section of your HOA website with Q&A for New Homeowners that tailors their experience and welcomes them Home.
Love it!
And also, I love this suggestion. I’ve been talking about implementing something similar!