BUSTING STEREOTYPES

Forever tarred as avocado-smash eating lightweights who would rather spend than save, millennials often attract negative press - especially when it comes to property. If they are not portrayed as too frivolous to commit, there is a widespread presumption it’s simply not possible for their generation to get into property anymore.

But the reality is somewhat different. Recent US and Australasian studies suggest that millennials, who are classed as those born from the early 1980s to the mid to late 1990s, are interested in investing generally and keen on property as an investment.

According to a Legg Mason global investment survey from May 2019, Australian millennials are optimistic and knowledgeable about investing. They are also open to investing in new asset classes and on using technology to manage their investments.

In a Bankrate Financial Security Survey from June 2019, US millennials said they were most interested in real estate as a long-term investment, choosing it over shares, cash investments, and cryptocurrency.

There’s no New Zealand data on millennials and property investment. But recent research from Nikko Asset Management shows New Zealand millennials spend as much of their income on investments as their parents and see investing as more “important” than any other age group.

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