In contrary to belief, Millennials are not that different to previous generations.
CBRE have conducted research to look at the way the millennials are driven to achieve their goals through work, life and play. The report, Asia Pacific Millennials: Shaping the Future of Real Estate, established that it thought that this generation have a preference for informal employment, and as such changing work is a common theme. However this is not the case for millennials in the Asia Pacific Region as the majority of them want to secure a stable career and additionally contrary to belief they do save money in order to put a roof over their head.
This aspiration to own their home still exists despite escalating costs making it hard for some people to get on the property ladder. CBRE asked millennials their ambitions regarding property and 65 percent planned to buy a property in the future, with 63 percent saying that they were forced to rent in the meantime. Regardless of constraints, millennials still strive for property that meets their requirements in terms of quality, size and location and will not settle otherwise. This increases the numbers in ‘generation rent’, the term coined to define those who have to rent as are not in a position to be able to afford to buy property.
Within the workplace millennials do have differing attitudes to previous generations to their employment. The workplace environment is a priority for them and many would consider trading in other benefits in order to achieve this.
Steve Swerdlow, chief executive officer at CBRE Asia Pacific commented, “The millennial demographic in Asia Pacific is a game-changer for businesses across the board. Their live, work and play priorities and habits will shape economics, redefine opinions on workplace design and functionality, and drive new attitudes towards consumption and experience for the foreseeable future.”