TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
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FEATURE TH E M R EP O RT | 19 OF THE VIRTUAL HANDSHAKE M illions of words have been written about how different millennials are from their parents, and how the future of mortgage lending is as bleak as the predictions in the old song, "In the Year 2525" by Zager and Evans. From the perspective of the parent of a millennial daughter, rest assured that it just isn't true: Millennials will prove to be invet - erate homeowners, just as generations of Americans have been since the end of World War II. Their journey to homeownership may follow a different path from their parents' and grandparents', but that's not necessarily a product of their own making. Stuff hap - pens, as Zager and Evans themselves could tell you–their song was No.1 for six weeks in 1969, but they became one-hit wonders, never to be heard from again. Millennials, many feel, were handed great advantages but are appallingly slow to launch out of the nest. While this may appear true, it does little to portend what is yet to come from this generation. You will do very well by catering to this market segment, espe - cially if you pay attention and then adapt and deploy the correct strategies. Strength in Numbers I f you thought the baby boomers were an important demographic, the millen- nials will knock your socks off. Accord- ing to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 83.1 million of them, born between 1980 and 2000, and they make up more than 25 percent of this country's population. There were about 75 million baby boom - ers, and they drove markets almost since they were, well, babies. The millenni- als, on the other hand, arrived at a time when there was a whole lot more to buy than the boomers' Davy Crockett caps and 45-RPM rock n' roll records. (For example, the video game industry easily out-earns the entire movie and TV busi - ness, thanks to millennials.) FEATURE