September 1, 2017, by Edge Capital

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This time is different.  Four little words that are often the most dangerous in finance.  Though the same can be applied when thinking about generational change.  The so-called Millennials were said to be different than their parents.  The group of people currently aged between 18 and 34 years old are not materialistic like their mothers and fathers.  Instead, they spend money on experience.  They don’t want the big house in the suburbs with all of the stuff they said.  Kids and marriage?  It was suggested that fewer would follow that path.  However, data from Zillow and Ford are suggesting maybe all it takes is a little extra time.  According to Zillow, the largest group of homebuyers in the US are millennials with half of those buying out in the suburbs.  Bigger houses need to be filled which often means kids and big trucks to tote the ever-expanding amount of gear necessary to take care of a little one.  US sales of large SUVs has jumped 11% in the first half of 2017 according to estimates from Ford.  Ford also did a survey which showed that Millennials ranked having children, buying a suburban home, and driving a big family vehicle are higher in terms of importance than living in a major city or relying on alternative forms of transportation.  Turns out that Millennials are interested in experiences, like the one they had growing up.  It just may be shifting to a little later in life.  The annual birthrate for women ages 30-34 years of age is the highest it has been since 1964 according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  So the truer turn of phrase may be from Mark Twain who said that history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme.