Some might say millennials are fashionably late to the homeownership party, but they are about to arrive in a big way if you ask @properties co-founders Thad Wong and Mike Golden. In the latest installment of @properties’ @ the market webcast, the two agree that the next 10 years in real estate will be largely shaped by the generation’s shift to homeownership.

As of 2018, millennials, born anywhere between 1981 and 1996, became the “largest cohort of buyers in U.S. history,” meaning they could have a significant impact on the housing market. Characterized as a generation driven by convenience, flexibility, and amenities, they have been a long-awaited addition to the pool of homebuyers.

Millennials’ slower approach to homeownership, relative to their Generation X and Baby Boomer counterparts, is often attributed to affordability, student debt, and tighter lending standards. But as they continue to age and mature over the next decade, Golden and Wong say they are likely to start looking for something more permanent in a community, especially when taking into consideration the cost to rent versus own. “They will realize that it’s better to invest, purchase, and save,” says Wong.

Want more information on how millennials will define the 2020s? Check out the clip below, and click here to learn about the other trends that will impact the Chicagoland real estate market over the next year and decade.