It is true millennials are by far the largest demographic group ready for buying homes. Born between 1982 and 2004, this generation is around 83 million in the US. However, two elder generations are as closely populated as the millennials: Generation X, around 65 million and Baby Boomers, around 76 million.
Gen X and Baby Boomers as prospects
Baby Boomers are investing more in mortgage today, compared to what they did a decade earlier. As about 2.1 million Baby Boomers live with their families (grandchildren in their 20s), the younger generation is found more dependent on elders for mortgage-related decisions. Moreover, Gen X has long finished paying their education loans. They can be targeted for home loans; they will go for it more readily.
Why Baby Boomers?
Around 23% of the total US population is Baby Boomers, a section looking towards retirement. The new loan borrowing table (reverse mortgage) for Baby Boomers now allows spouses to keep the house, as long as they pay the insurance, taxes, and association costs. Also, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) through their Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) purchase allowed eligible seniors to use a reverse mortgage to relocate or downsize home purchasing.
What makes Gen X qualify?
Another generation showing promises in mortgage lending is Gen X, says a report of National Association of Realtors (NAR). The average Gen X buyer is 41-years-old and earns a little less than $105,000. One of their major focuses is on buying larger homes so that they can accommodate the entire family. With about 75% of Gen X in the U.S. (approx. 50 million people) using the internet, information on consumer lending can be disseminated to them really fast. In the middle of all financial crises, this generation is coming up as one extremely powerful and stable group.
Of course, one of the main reasons why mortgage lenders target millennials is their immense proximity to technology. About two-thirds of them regularly use the internet on their mobiles. That proportion is only slightly lower for Gen X, and Baby Boomers are at just below 50%. These proportions have been measured from their entire populations in the US.
Gen X and Baby Boomers cannot be mistaken to be less compatible with data-driven advertising, online property browsing, and mobile banking. Hence, Lenders can use mortgage software technology and achieve much more comprehensive business returns by targeting not just the millennials, but Gen X and Baby Boomers as well.
