Contributed by Real Property Vibes Alyssa Chung

Millennials are those born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s. Younger millennials have recently entered the working world, while the oldest are in their mid-thirties. They have been labelled as “The Homeless Generation”, “The Renter Generation”, and “Renting for Life”, among others.

These tags came along because the prices of property have skyrocketed to an unaffordable level that is beyond reach for most millennials.

There is certainly some degree of truth that most millennials do not have the budget to purchase properties of their own at the moment. However, they may have been unfairly labelled. A benefit of the doubt has to be given as they are, after all, the most academically educated generation.

Perhaps, they have their reasons to rent, rather than to buy. One thing is for sure though. Millennials are your biggest pool of prospective tenants out there now.

This E-Book has been written based on actual case studies that have been mapped to key traits/characteristics known to define this generation. Based on the case studies, there is a correlation between the success of securing tenants and the traits of the tenants — in this case, the millennials.

These are the 10 traits or characteristics that are important to the millennials. It will directly influence their decision-making when finding for a room to rent.

1. Tech savvy

If you have never advertised your property for rent on property portals before, where have you been? Millennials look for a place to rent with just a few clicks, and likewise, you should advertise your property with just a few clicks. Upload one or two pictures, and you are open for

business. Among the property portals available are Mudah and iBilik.

If you are still adopting a non-electronic approach, do give e-advertising a chance and you will not be disappointed. You will receive calls or enquiries almost immediately, and here’s the best part; you don’t even need to engage a real estate agent. Hence, you will not need to part with your first month’s rent.

Tech-savvy here also means that millennials breathe, eat, and sleep with the internet. Gone are the days where the main questions from prospective tenants involve the size of the place, how nice the furnishing is or how many occupants there are and more.

Today, prospective millennial tenants do not even ask about the availability of Internet connection. This is because they assume that WiFi must be available. It is a non-negotiable feature, and the first and most likely question that they will ask is the speed of the WiFi. Therefore, owners who previously got away by saving their internet bills may now find that they are out of the game if they do not change with the times.

2. Mobility

Millennials are adventurous and ambitious, so do not expect them to stay in a place for long. It is not because they are not loyal or not committed as a tenant. They simply like to be on the run. Millennials can get bored easily or become restless, and this may apply to their career and even accommodation.

Owners may wish for a long-term tenant as it will minimise the hassle, but a long-term tenancy requirement will scare the living daylight out of the millennials. Owners must understand this trait inherent in the millennials and opt to be less rigid when imposing a long tenancy duration.

3. Flexibility

Open communication and transparency are of utmost importance to millennials. If you need to impose certain house rules and regulations, engage with them and explain the reason behind the decision being made or the rules that need to be adhered to. Better yet, include them in the decision-making process.

For all we know, their ideas may be brighter, more relevant, and more effective than what we could have possibly thought of ourselves. Indeed, millennials want to have fun, and having fun does not make them any less responsible. Hence, it would be advisable for us to adopt a less intimidating or formal landlord-tenant relationship.

4. Connectivity

Millennials do not insist on staying near their workplace—something that was a key factor to the generations before them. As long as they are assured of the good transport connections to their offices and favourite hang-out places, they are good to stay.

In these instances, it would mean having the MRT and LRT stations in the vicinity. There are even cases in which they would choose to stay near their circle of friends rather than nearby to their workplace.

5. Branding priority

Research has shown that millennials are definitely brand-conscious, but they only care about certain kinds of brands — brands that help them represent who they are. Millennial consumers were asked if they market themselves on social media and consider themselves to be a brand.

A quarter of them said yes. Thus, millennials are very aware of their social status. Therefore, brands that can help them with their status will do well. In other words, investors who purchase properties at strategic locations with equally good brand names or signature addresses will gain a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting millennial tenants.

6. Individualism

Millennials demand nothing less than instant gratification. Maybe that is why millennials are so obsessed with personal finance and self-sufficiency. Even the “selfie” culture is an example of the “self” being more important than the “collective”.

Millennials do not deny that the economy is and will continue to become more competitive and that they cannot rely on the “collective”. It is up to them to take control and forge their destiny, be it for wealth or success. It is possible that millennials are often misunderstood as being immature as their idea of what adulthood means differs from the previous generations.

Adulthood to them is when they accept responsibility for themselves, achieve financial independence, and make decisions independently, rather than by getting married or having children. Hence, many are postponing their marriage plans.

As such, it makes perfect sense to say that a large space is no longer mandatory for millennial tenants. Homeowners who understand millennials well are already dividing the master bedroom into two rooms. What millennials need is their personal space — individually and not collectively. Spending “Me” time in their own space matters most.

7. Creativity

Millennials employ creativity and innovation in their problem-solving. Self-driven, they are resourceful and fearless in many senses, especially when it comes to achieving financial independence. Hence, do not be surprised if your enterprising millennial tenants want to sub-let your place. Do not be paranoid about allowing them as you will need to get used to this trend soon.

8. Agility

Millennials are educated, well informed, and are fairly good at multi-tasking. While millennials cherish their individualism trait, they will heed the call for collaborative initiative when required.

They know exactly when to band together and pool resources to deal with the increasingly taxing demands of present-day society. Just look at the number of apps created by millennials that promote shared or pooled resources.

Agility is all about minimising waste, generating value quickly and essentially figuring out how not to waste money and time. Hence, millennials can be a little too feedback-driven. They may just leave you a raving review on the social media. If the landlord messes around with them, a bad review that goes viral is more detrimental than you can possibly imagine.

9. Carefree

No matter the sector, marketers and entrepreneurs are getting in on the trend to attract millennials consumers through new and innovative approaches. Through on-demand services, marketers have found the right balance to attract millennial shoppers and retain them with hassle-free products.

This carefree mentality has birthed many popular on-demand services, ranging from car-share initiatives to food delivery subscriptions. Millennials simply prefer to maintain a daily life with as little stress as possible. They hate to waste their limited time.

How then can this trait be linked to their room renting behaviour? Obviously, they would want a fully-furnished unit with zero hassle. All they will need to do is bring along their luggage and move right in.

10. Value-driven

Finally, millennials are value-driven. For example, they want to find purpose in their career. There is a need for them to make a difference, give back to the community and to speak their mind. They could also be passionate about the environment.

It may mean a great deal to millennials if they can find a place to rent which is a green building — an environmentally-sustainable building, designed, constructed and operated to provide energy as well as water savings. More importantly, it is eco-friendly.

They may also prefer a pet-friendly place. Millennials will not leave their furry friends behind just to rent your unit. They will just look for another place.

Conclusion

Millennials’ purchasing power will soon exceed that of every other generation, yet the key factors that influence their purchasing decisions are sometimes a mystery to marketers and service providers.

Homeowners who are looking for tenants are also service providers and marketers. Hence, it pays to know the key factors and more, importantly, act upon them. Tenants are spoilt for choices nowadays, and it is the homeowners who have to adapt and suit the tenants’ requirements. A homeowner cannot be complacent and wait for the millennials to adapt to their house rules.

It is important to know these 10 key traits of the millennials and how each of them correlates to their decision-making in renting a place. It will certainly give you an “unfair advantage” or the “cheat code” in securing tenants faster!