Millennials want flexibility, not home ownership

Put simply, as millennials, we want different things in our lives; we are nearly three times as likely to witness the divorce of our parents, a recent study even showing that 46% of us believed marriage had become obsolete.

We’re having our children more than two years later and we’re not anywhere close to starting our careers in our teens, instead aiming for our mid-twenties, favouring further education and volunteering, supported by part-time flexible work.

There’s that word again – flexible. This is the one word which I believe the sector has unfortunately looked past and the reason I believe housing finds itself under the pressure that it is.

Other sectors have jumped on it; if you look in your bag or dig around in your pockets you’ll find two items there that you carry with you every day; car keys and a phone.

"As millennials, we want different things in our lives"

Starting with the car keys, there are fast growing numbers of people choosing to lease a car rather than purchase one.

Why? We get a nicer model, add different features to personalise it, if anything goes wrong we take it back and it’s fixed, without any extra costs. The terms of the lease can be flexible to suit us and after two or three years we can swap it for a newer one.

Phones are the same – we don’t purchase a phone outright anymore, and we take out a contract for the exact same reasons as mentioned with the car – affordable new model, personalisation, and the opportunity to upgrade and change in a small timeframe, all while avoiding those niggling repair costs.

Housing, however, falls short in this department, especially in terms of purchasing.

It’s a block product, it’s turning off those exciting bendy roads and setting out on that long, straight road to retirement.

It’s a 10% deposit and a 25-year mortgage, like it or lump it. Yes, shared ownership does reduce the figures, but the principle is still the same, just on 40% rather than the whole thing.

Purchasing a property isn’t just something that is financially difficult for us, it’s something that simply doesn’t interest us. It’s becoming an outdated ideology that we no longer identify as being a representation of our success.

For us to achieve a thriving 2050 for housing, it’s going to need to offer us something that doesn’t hold down our ankles and it’s going to need to offer us more of that golden word. Flexibility. Renting affordably can do this and renting through a housing association in particular will have so many wider benefits to our communities.

“Purchasing is becoming an outdated ideology that we no longer identify as being a representation of our success.”

Working in development, I am aware of the role that I can play. However it requires a holistic approach and therefore I issue the question: what is it that you can do to cater to these needs and wants of my generation?

How can we as a sector deliver that flexibility, while continuing to supply a strong platform from which people can build their lives?

Answers and a positive reaction to this question would go some way to help deliver the healthy and progressive sector that we aspire to be involved in.

Then, come 2050, who knows – I might be living out an entirely different dream.

Jimmy Overill, graduate development officer, property team, Plus Dane

The above is an abridged version of a speech given by Mr Overill to the Liverpool City Region housing summit last month