What do people at different ages and life stages look for in a home, and how do they view homeownership? Long & Foster Real Estate, the nation’s No. 1 independent real estate brand by sales volume, and YouGov recently polled 2,218 U.S. adults to find out who is buying homes, who isn’t and why.

As Long & Foster celebrates 50 years in business, the company wanted to see how attitudes about homeownership have evolved since its founding. Some of the answers may surprise you.

When asked about the main reasons they purchased their first homes, Gen Xers and older said their No. 1 reason was they would rather pay a mortgage than rent (58 percent), while Millennials’ top reason was they desired the freedom to do what they wanted without a property owner’s approval (30 percent).

Even though their reasoning varies from previous generations, Millennials are buying and do want to buy homes. Fifty-five percent reported that they have already bought a home, and 20 percent have purchased two or more properties. Of the Millennials who have not purchased homes, 87 percent would like to buy a house in the future.

“Millennials want to purchase homes, but it’s not for the reasons you might think, and not for the same reasons previous generations said they made their first-home purchases,” said Jeff Detwiler, president and CEO of The Long & Foster Companies, parent company of Long & Foster Real Estate. “They are less likely than their parents to view their home as an investment, but when they’re ready to buy, like the generations that came before them, they rely on a real estate agent’s help.”

The survey results also illustrate the changing role of the real estate agent, as buyers of all generations look to their Realtors for market knowledge, negotiation skills and contract expertise.

“There’s a huge opportunity for real estate agents to serve the growing number of Millennials who want to become homeowners,” said Larry “Boomer” Foster, president of Long & Foster Real Estate. “Attitudes and needs might change with a new generation of buyers, but the role of the trained real estate professional in promoting the interests of the client will remain in demand for a long time to come.”

Long & Foster Real Estate President Gary Scott added, “Long & Foster has been able to thrive through good economic times and tough ones because we’ve adapted to the marketplace. This study verifies our understanding of what buyers need from us today, so we can continue to help them on their journeys home for the next 50 years.”

Read more about these findings at https://mydigitalpublication.com/view/long-and-foster/long-foster/four-generations-of-homebuyers. You can also learn more about Long & Foster at LongandFoster.com and YouGov at yougov.com.