Liferep.net

Tuesday August 2, 2016

// August 2nd, 2016 // Daily News

When millennials buy homes, they invest in them differently

CNBC.com

As millennials postpone life’s major milestones, grabbing their attention has proven a bit elusive for home improvement retailers.
But now, as the older members of this generation start reaching the median age for first-time homebuyers, the industry is starting to see how their tastes differ from their predecessors — and likewise, how they’ll need to evolve their businesses to suit these shoppers’ needs.
Near the top of millennials’ wish lists are smart, energy-efficient homes with an inspiring outdoor space. Yet most important for this cohort, which is already known for its desire to stand out, is finding a way to use their homes as a means of self-expression.
On a call with analysts in May, Home Depot CEO Craig Menear said millennials appear to be in a six-year delayed cycle for forming their own households. Indeed, the median age of first-time homebuyers reached 35 between 2010 and 2015, according to PwC. That’s an all-time high since the firm started tracking this metric in 1970. And just last week, a report from the U.S. Census Bureau found the country’s homeownership rate hit its lowest level since 1965.
Yet even as the generation holds onto urban living as long as possible — namely, until they become parents and have to send their kids to school — they are showing an inevitable desire to move back to the suburbs, PwC’s Byron Carlock said.
“It’s really not a question of ‘if,’ but rather a question of ‘when,'” said UBS analyst Michael Lasser, who has a buy rating on Home Depot’s stock.
As older millennials — defined by Home Depot as ages 28 to 36 — begin entering their prime homebuying years, the retailer has already identified certain characteristics that set these shoppers apart from their elder counterparts.
For one, they are more inclined to invest in smart or energy-efficient technologies, Hoffmann said.
They also expect a broader array of choices. For example, five styles of granite used to be sufficient, but the company may now have to offer 30 types, Hoffmann said. That’s where building out the company’s online assortment comes into play. While Home Depot stocks some 35,000 units in its stores, that number expands beyond 1 million online.
It isn’t just about assortment, Hoffmann said. Millennials also want retailers to “cut through a lot of the noise,” and be able to highlight the five most fashion-forward faucets for people living in Miami.
“It’s this great challenge of endless assortment but with the right level of know-how and content curation,” Hoffmann said.
And thanks to the prevalence of inspirational Pinterest boards, instructional YouTube videos and aspirational home improvement shows, Home Depot’s research has found that millennials are more interested in do-it-yourself projects than previous generations, Hoffmann said.
“The general millennial taste trends toward light, airy and open as opposed to small square rooms,” PwC’s Carlock said. “That tells me that when they do buy [homes], they are going to spend and remodel.”
Financials also play a role in this trend, as millennials are often saddled with student debt. That makes it easier for them to purchase an older home for less money up front, and pay for improvements as they go. Not only that, but securing the financing to purchase a home is harder than it was for previous generations, Hoffmann said.
And with the median age of a home on the rise — it increased from 31 to 37 in the 10 years ended 2015, UBS’ Lasser said — many of the houses millennials purchase will require more TLC.
“Homes are getting older, and older homes should require more spending,” he said.
Though Home Depot does not disclose what percentage of its sales come from millennials, Lasser predicts the generation will start to play a bigger role in its financials over the next five to 10 years. Still, Hoffmann admits millennials’ revenue contribution likely won’t surpass that of baby boomers and Generation X for another 10-plus years.
Investors don’t appear to be concerned. Home Depot’s stock hit an all-time high of $138.94 a share on Monday, thanks to strong housing market fundamentals and company-specific initiatives, including a more efficient supply chain.
“We’re still in a good part of the [housing] cycle,” said Lasser, who has a $150 12-month price target on the stock. “Home Depot could continue to grow at a low- to mid-single-digit clip for a few years.”

Today’s Inspiration

How to Gain Wisdom

by Joyce Meyer – posted August 02, 2016

If you will turn (repent) and give heed to my reproof, behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit upon you, I will make my words known to you.
– Proverbs 1:23

We need to pray and obey God’s leading when He speaks to us. Obedience is not to be an occasional event for us; it is to be our way of life. There’s a big difference between people who are willing to obey God daily and those who are only willing to obey to get out of trouble. God certainly shows people how to get out of trouble, but He bestows abundant blessings on those who decide to live wholeheartedly for Him and who make obedience to Him their lifestyle. The only pathway to true peace is obedience to God.

Many people obey God in the big issues, but they aren’t aware that obedience in the little things makes a difference in His plan for their lives. The Bible says plainly that if we are not faithful in the little things, we will never be made rulers over much (see Luke 16:10). There is no reason for God to trust us with a major responsibility if we are not going to be faithful to do the little things He has asked us to do. I strongly urge you to be obedient to God even in the smallest of things. A sixteenth-century monk called Brother Lawrence was well known for walking continually in the presence of God. He said that He was pleased to pick up a piece of trash from the ground in obedience to God and because He loved Him.

In the verse for today, God says He will make known His words to us if we listen to Him when He corrects us. If we follow His guidance and are pleased to do each little thing He asks of us then He will open His wisdom to us, and we will have more revelation than we could ever imagine.