When it comes to negotiating, older sellers are often more willing to reduce their home’s asking price but are less likely to offer buyer incentives such as home warranty policies or assistance with closing costs.
Of sellers working with real estate agents, the study found that older generations of buyers are more likely to use full-service brokerages in which agents provide a broad range of services. While more than two-thirds of Millennials used full-service brokerages, they were more likely than other generations to choose limited service, which includes discount brokerage, or minimal service, such as simply listing the home on a multiple listing service, presumably because they have less equity in their home.
Sellers of all ages typically found a real estate agent through a referral or friend; however, younger sellers were more likely to use the same real estate broker or agent for their home purchase, 59 percent of Millennials used the same agent compared to 42 percent of Older Boomer sellers. Younger sellers typically want their selling agents help with selling the home within a specific timeframe and pricing the home competitively, whereas older buyers are looking for their agent’s help with marketing the home and finding a buyer.
For more information, visit www.realtor.org.
