It’s a loaded question but the answer might be optimism meets innovation.
Zonda’s Mollie Carmichael’s topic at this year’s Summit was simply titled, “Market Update.” But if you attended her presentation, you know it was much, much more than that. It was a sermon.
Mollie framed the current economic outlook, demographic trends and general trends to watch but also provided a call to action for all of us…
Disruption and challenges
Let’s rip the Band-Aid off first and list some of the concerns she covered. No big surprises here, really (thankfully).
- We are still recovering from one of the world’s most catastrophic epidemics
- World-wide debt has put pressure on all economies
- Banking + credit institutions of all categories is a concern
- Inflation is challenging today’s consumer as incomes are not keeping up
- Housing has slowed quicker than the rest of the economy
The good news
There was a contagious optimistic vibe through Mollie’s presentation. Here are a few trends, she foresees:
- Built demographics are well positioned for growth
- 10+ years of strong equity + strong stock market
- Jobs are growing + unemployment is 3.7%
- Wage growth up 5.7%
And, who will the next-gen of buyers be?
- Boomers are leading the way in home shopping (the most affluent demo) but right behind them are … Gen Y
- In the next five years Gen Y will help stabilize what’s going on in the market today. Big difference from Boomers: they will want a completely different housing experience.
And with that…Mollie dropped the mic with this line:
It’s up to this room to innovate + create something special.
Innovation can change everything
Whether the homes are modular, stick, single family for rent, technology and better ways to build will rule the day (or actually, minutes). We should all have one goal, says Molly, and that is to create 1,440 minutes a day that are better today than they were yesterday, that they’ll be even better tomorrow.
Gen Y wants it all, but they can really only buy what they can afford. How do we make that happen? When we ask consumers what they want in their lifestyle, in their community, it always starts with tech. But the reality is it’s not technology, it’s time. It’s what technology does for them and can do for them that really makes a difference. That’s the 1440 Rule.
RESOURCES
Members and Partners, login via the “sign in” button at the top of this window. Use your email address to access Mollie’s slide deck. Attendees, check your inbox for a link from Natalie@housinginnovation.org or reach out to us.