What Gen Z wants from mortgage brokers

Speaking with Mortgage Business, Taylar Stephens, mortgage broker at Resolve Finance, said brokers should not expect Gen Zers (those born between 1995 and 2010) - as they approach their home buying years - to “come easy”.

He explained that Gen Zers were raised in households “dominated by financial insecurity, recession and anxiety around debt and lending, so the traditional notion of buying with credit may be a tough sell”.

“They are looking for advisers and partners that they can trust to facilitate their informed decision making,” Mr Stephens said.

“Don’t make the mistake of treating them like children – they are incredibly informed.

“[They] are fluent in rapid information gathering and are able to sift through messages, filter out excess noise, and quickly identify authentic voices that they feel they can trust.”

He pointed out that as digital natives, Gen Zers do their research online prior to taking any action, so it would be worthwhile for brokers to be conscious of how they present themselves and their businesses online.

“You can assume they have identified a business through their online research that appears to operate ethically, transparently and in line with their personal beliefs, so brokers should be highly aware of perpetuating the key messages projected by their business,” Mr Stephens said.

“Work on your digital footprint diligently, so you can successfully leverage word-of-mouth marketing and accumulate social proof around your brand.

“Companies who have a mobile app can simply integrate social platforms into their app to collect more reviews that happy guests leave.”

While Gen Zers will expect exchange of information to happen digitally, that does not mean they will not value sitting face-to-face with a broker.

“For them, [face-to-face] is important in demystifying the process,” Mr Stephens said.

A Committee of Economic Development of Australia report titled Housing Australia, which compares trends in property ownership across different age groups over a period of 30 years, states that between 1981 and 2016, the proportion of home owners between 25 and 34 years of age had shrunk the most, by 16 per cent, and was smaller than the proportion of renters. On the other hand, home ownership among those aged 65 years and over grew slightly across that period.

While some denounce younger generations based on their choice of breakfast (such as avocado on toast), suggesting that today’s young adults struggle to own property because they choose to spend money rather than save it, Mr Stephens noted that housing affordability and the declining risk appetite of lenders are some of the “key issues standing between younger generations and home ownership”.

Further, based on his experience with clients, Mr Stephens said if a broker can assist young aspiring home buyers establish a savings plan, they are willing to make sacrifices for whatever they want to achieve in life, just like their predecessors.

[Related: FHBs increasingly hopeful about home ownership]