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Vanilla Not a Favorite Flavor of Generation X Home Buyers

Yankelovich President J. Walker Smith discussed a number of characteristics that set Xers apart from the previous generation:

• They are more family-oriented and the concept of family extends to close friends. They do not have “the disaggregated individuality of baby boomers,” said Smith, and they are dedicated to doing a better job of raising their children than their parents, who had a high divorce rate.
  
  
• They tend to like the idea of a return to more traditional values in their relationships with neighbors. According to a Yankelovich OmniPlus poll conducted in February, community attributes such as safety, sidewalks, recreation facilities and community amenities are important for Xers. “Planned communities that foster togetherness and neighborhood life will resonate with this generation,” Smith said.

• Xers are extremely practical and self-reliant, and unlike the generation that preceded them, a strong majority — 78% — feel the need to plan for retirement.
  
  
• The generation is comfortable with technology and they don’t regard it as a novelty. “Here’s your market for the wired house,” Smith said. “They will embrace it.”
  
  
• And they are comfortable with an evolving shift away from the predominance of white people in the ethnic composition of American society. Smith cited a growing movement toward children of mixed races and ethnic heritages.

On hand to discuss how research on the Xer generation translates into opportunities in the housing market were architects Barry Berkus, of Berkus Design Studio, and Brent Harrington, of DMB Associates:

• Gen Xers are looking for public gathering places and many are in the market for flexible downtown living, said Berkus, in old towns that are being rejuvenated. They are in the market for “traditional design and values, but at the same time special places in which to live, where kids can get to the park without having to cross the street.” The dining room table is making its return as a gathering place for members of this demographic, he said. Special places for this group include 1,200-square-foot loft units with 14-foot ceilings in Santa Barbara that sold in the $400,000-$600,000 range and only a year or so later are being resold for $1.2 million. Berkus is emphasizing a diversity of materials and architecture, and he is building housing on top of office buildings.
  
  
• According to Harrington, Gen Xers “find suburbia homogenous and uninteresting.” They are individualists who are looking for charm and character in their housing, and there is “extreme disillusionment with the bland, vanilla suburbs.”
  
  
• On the list of products attractive to Xers, Harrington said, are small homes with big personalities, warmth, dignity and elegance; simple massing with beautiful porches; good proportions; craftsman style architecture and classics revisited.
  
  
• Xers are interested in “keeping it real,” advised Harrington. “Boomers are focused on entertaining and showing off. Xers are less likely to behave that way. The friends and neighbors who are coming over have refrigerator privileges.”
  
  
• Harrington added that Xers “view a great neighborhood as an extension of great parenting” and they “want their children’s lives to be full of wonder and discovery.” They are looking for more free time to spend with their families; neighborhoods that are inclusive rather than exclusive and that include a mix of people; schools that are located in the heart of the community rather than at its edge; a shopping environment that is more than utilitarian, providing experiences; designs that are conducive to living instead of entertaining; less square footage with more detail; environmental stewardship over views; and human values over property values.

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