Moving out of one’s parents’ house is often thought of as a key milestone on the path to adulthood. But in the face of waning housing affordability, a growing number of Americans are continuing to live with their parents into adulthood. In 1970, just 7 percent of 25 to 35 year-olds lived in their parents’ homes, but as of 2022, that share has more than doubled to 17 percent.

Click here to read the full report at Apartment List.

by Tony Youngs

As with most parents, we always want our children to do well and be successful. I myself only have one child, a 24-year-old daughter. As she was growing up and going through school, I always wanted her to get into real estate investing. Why, because it builds wealth and provides income even while you are sleeping. For me, a baby boomer, it has been the greatest life I have ever known. Pure joy.

I always took my daughter to see my rental properties and told her that I own them but my renters are buying them for me. I told her that they pay me rent to live there and explained to her about positive cash flow and how it works. I would also take her to rehab projects and walk her through them and then explain why we do it. I really thought I was rubbing off on her and making a good impression.

She made good grades all through school and was eager to go to college. I asked her what she was going to study and she said Psychology. When I ask her why, she said, that’s what I’m interested in. She told me that real estate is fine but “I want to do my own thing”. I respected her decision because when I was her age, I felt the same way.  I wanted to do what I wanted to do, no matter what my parents wanted.

My daughter went on to college and she did well, however, a funny thing happened during her last year at college –  she all of a sudden became interested in real estate investing. She started to ask me if I knew anything about wholesaling. I said yes, and I asked her where she had heard the term. She said a few of her buddies were telling her that they wanted to get into wholesale real estate. You see, when we parents say it, the younger generation doesn’t want to listen but when their peers say it, it becomes a truth for them. I told her I would be glad to help.

She graduated from college with a degree in Psychology and Immediately got a job in Colorado Springs, Colorado and put real estate on the side. She explained that millennials have dreams to travel and see the world. Some had no desire to get a home and start a family or settle in one place.  They seem to just want instant gratification.

Her job ended up being a one-year stepping stone but she loved Colorado and wanted to stay there but, decided to come back to Georgia.  My daughter discovered that living on your own is great but it takes money to make it. On her own she invested in the stock market and she said she lost money. It turns out she was day-trading. However, she remembered that real estate can produce large amounts of money and is a safer investment.

I began taking her with me when I go out to find deals, I explained that it is very competitive and that’s why I go door knocking and driving for dollars. The very first door we knocked on together, the owner talked and talked.  My daughter jumped right in and the homeowner really enjoyed talking to her.  He told her everything about how he wanted to sell but didn’t know what he was going to do with all his stuff.  He said his house needs a lot of work and that he wanted to move out of state and has a place in mind.  I said we would make an offer within twenty-four hours. My daughter and I went back to the office to write the offer.  It ended up solving all the problems for the seller.

My daughter has seen the light and is very valuable to the business because millennials and the younger crowd do everything on their phones. She understands the benefit of driving the neighborhoods to beat the competition and while we sit in front of a house, she tells me the owners name, the after-repair value, any liens against it, and the approximate loan balance – all from her phone before we even knock on the door.

In summary, if you want to get your sons or daughters involved in real estate, I recommend you show them copies of checks.  Why?  Because that is their main motivation. Remember they like instant gratification and want to work smarter, not harder. If they have jobs, show them how to invest their earnings in real estate. I would like to get my daughter a rental house or two – even if she must get a property manager.  Owning real estate has a proven track record.

I recently wholesaled a property to a 20-year-old who has 16 flips being rehabbed at the same time. He is the project manager and finds the deals. He is kicking it and has a money-backer with very deep pockets. I was so impressed that I have made arrangements for my daughter to meet him and learn from his successes.

We all wish we had started at a young age like that.

Tony Youngs is an active real estate investor and Hands On trainer,  a national speaker and the author of The “Hidden Market” system of acquiring off market properties. He can be reached at his website at www.tonyyoungs.com

“…data reveals substantial differences across states, with the Southern and Northeastern states registering some of the highest shares of young adults remaining in parental homes…”

Click here to read more at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

By Victoria Cowart, CPM, NAAEI Faculty

Are you acquiring residential rental property and wanting to start on the best foot? Here’s a question that will impact approximately seventy percent of your renters. How will you respond to pets in your rental properties? Will you prohibit pets? Will you become pet-friendly? Or will you push yourself and your success by becoming pet passionate?

Available data today says seventy-six percent of the property management industry consider themselves and their rental properties pet-friendly. Contrast that with those seeking pet-friendly housing, with seventy-two percent saying it’s hard to find. Also, consider that somewhere north of ninety percent of residents and property management professionals agree that pets are important family members.

The rental property management industry today has a wide variety of responses to pets. Some companies prohibit cats and dogs in their rentals, some permit pets, and even have no restricted breeds of dogs. In contrast, other companies have ten or more restricted breeds. Some companies have no weight restrictions, while others have varying weight restrictions from twenty-five to one hundred pounds. These policies are all over the map. So again, what will your pet policies and pet restrictions be?

And if you’re willing to permit pets, where do you stand on pet-related fees or deposits? The industry has pet rents, nonrefundable pet fees at move-in, and occasionally additional deposits as well. Some areas of the country have regulations on these rents, fees, and deposits. How will you structure those?

As you continue or begin new property management endeavors, these are great questions to ask yourself. But you may ask yourself again, “Why is it so important?” From a human perspective, pets promote relaxation, reduce loneliness and depression, and reportedly caused their pet parents to report a higher life satisfaction than non-pet owners do. One study showed that eighty percent of pet owners say their pet makes them feel less lonely, and fifty-four percent connect with others more readily. Pre-pandemic, one in ten adults would raise their hand and admit to being people living with a mental or emotional disability. Would it surprise you to learn that it is now four in ten? And where does, if it does, that factor into your policymaking in this arena? I know, more questions. It’s a more complex topic than a first glance might suggest.

But let’s not shy away before we’ve given this a full once over! Let’s quantify this a bit further. Twenty-seven percent of households in the country have children, whereas seventy percent of households have pets. This means that today’s households are more likely to include pets than children under the age of eighteen. Our most extensive group of renters, millennials, are very pet enthusiastic. Seventy-five percent of people in their thirties own a dog, and fifty percent of people in their thirties own a cat. The resulting pet population is astonishing, at 230M+ cats and dogs in our country in 137M+ households. Those are statistics that are hard to stare at for long if you’re thinking of being less than pet friendly, but pawsitively exciting if you’re on the road to becoming pet passionate!

As you read this, you may be saying, “But they make such a mess in rental properties!” And while many share that sentiment, there are statistics on this as well that are worth considering before you decide on your pet policies. One source said, “Pets are a safe bet in the rental housing industry.” “How so,” you might ask. The statistics show that only nine percent of pets caused damage and that the national average value of that damage is only $191.00.

With that said, what do your customers, renters, really think about pets in rental housing? Seventy one percent of renters know that pets create community—bringing people together. And not surprisingly, there was a better than seven out of ten correlation between the presence of pet-related amenities and the likelihood of rentals and renewals.

Studies show several beneficial results when we become more pet passionate about our policies. Among them, an increased disclosure about pets, leading to fewer unauthorized pets, a decrease in the risk of unvaccinated bites, and the creation of a tie that binds—community. Additionally, you receive more applications, more potential renters per available rental, a competitive edge, and faster and easier leasing. Eighty-three percent of property managers say their rentals rent faster, and seventy-nine percent say their rentals are easier to fill with more inclusive pet policies. Are your levels of pet passion on the rise yet?

Let’s get even more specific about the areas of enhanced performance. Turnover is lower in more pet-inclusive rentals. Pets are a reason for turnover twenty-four percent of the time. With more inclusive pet policies, the occupancy duration is longer as well. Instead of eighteen-month tenancies in more pet-prohibitive rentals, pet-passionate rentals can have renters for twenty-seven and a half to forty-six months! And with an average December 2022 rent in the country at $2007 per month, every month of additional tenancy counts! With even one extra month on average, that’s $2007 in additional rent and better than a $40,000 boost in property values at a 5% CAP rate. And in addition to additional months, renewals are enhanced as well— with one pet-passionate PetScreening partner reporting a whopping eighty percent of pet-owning residents renewing their lease. Eighty percent renewals, anyone?

With enhanced lengths of tenancy and renewals, there is reduced turnover and the accompanying benefits. With reductions in turnover, you will save money marketing your vacancies. The National Association of Realtors says landlords spend less than half as much money advertising their pet-friendly units. And let’s be sure to address the ever-present pressure – vacancy. One study revealed that pet-friendly rentals have a vacancy rate that is four percent lower and that their vacancies rent ten days more quickly.

But let’s double back to the renters. Let’s consider them just a touch further. The largest consistency among all ages and locations of renters is pet ownership. Ponder that for just a moment… We all try to analyze our renter persona. When you picture your renter, do you imagine them with one or more pets? You should. Again, it is the largest consistency among all renters!

With all these statistics, what are your reasons for remaining pet-prohibitive? Or are you already pet friendly? Wherever you are in the realm of pet passion, consider what more you can do to enhance your pet policies. Pets make our renters happier, create community, increase their length of stay, increase revenue, decrease vacancy, and do wonders for your bottom line. Become pet passionate, spread the word—and stay pawsitive!

Victoria Cowart, CPM, NAAEI Faculty, and the Director Education & Outreach for PetScreening.  For more information, please visit PetScreening.com.

“The pandemic turned back time for many empty nesters, as their homes were suddenly filled with the pitter-patter of their young adult children’s feet returning to the relative safety and financial security of their parents’ homes. But in the two-plus years since the pandemic’s onset, only a third of those who returned home during the pandemic have spread their wings and flown their parents’ coop again.”

Click here to read the full report at LendingTree.

So, Realtor.com set out to find the best suburbs outside the nation’s biggest cities that offer a rewarding lifestyle for parents as well as their kids.  To get their list they looked at the 11 largest cities in the nation and then their surrounding suburbs.  Criteria such as the percentage of children living in each city, school rankings, and family-friendly businesses (including day care centers) as well as restaurants, bars, and things to do, and, of course, the area’s commute.  (Editor’s note:  interestingly, public safety wasn’t one of their criteria)

Many of these millennials, especially highly educated ones with jobs that allow remote work, are increasingly buying homes in the suburbs…More people are making the decision to move a bit farther away from work to find more affordable housing where there are still some urban amenities,” Choi says.

Click here to read the full story at Realtor.com.

“The pandemic has led many New York City residents to uproot their lives in search of more spacious living quarters or cheaper rent. Among them are parents with young children.”

“Why pay 3.8% New York City tax when you don’t get the benefit of everything the city has to offer?”

Click here to read the full story at Realtor.com.

Click here to read the full story at the Wall Street Journal.

“The share of young adults currently living with their parents is higher than any previous measurement recorded in surveys and decennial censuses. The highest historical value was previous recorded in the 1940 census towards the end of the end of the Great Depression when 48 percent of young adults lived with a parent. The share reached its lowest point in 1960 at 29 percent but it has grown steadily ever since, hitting 49 percent by February 2020…”

Hat tip to Statista.

“The 2018 uptick in headship rates is largely due to the declining share of young adults living with relatives (0.2 percentage point decline) and sharing housing with roommates, housemates and other nonrelatives (another 0.2 percentage point decline). Nevertheless, the current share of young adults living with relatives other than parents and sharing housing with non-relatives remained elevated, 5% and 7%, respectively.”

Click here to read the full report at the NAHB’s Eye on Housing.

Here are the five states with the highest proportion of young adults living at home:

Click here to read the full story on Visual capitalilst.com.