By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Nearly half of all millennials living in cities want to move into the suburbs but at the same time maintain the walkability of city life, Central Jersey business leaders were told Thursday at a forum on real estate trends.
“So I think that a lot of these people are moving back to the world that they grew up in, which is suburbs like Princeton,” said Mercer Oak Realty CEO Aubrey Haines as part of a four-member panel discussion put on by the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce. For about 90 minutes, he and other panelists touched on things they are observing taking place around the state.
Speaking to more than 300 people at the Hyatt Regency, one industry executive said millennials do not want to live in so-called “McMansions” in isolated areas with two SUVs in the driveway.
“What we are seeing, and what we think as a forecast we’ll see more of, is the millennials looking at suburbs but bringing with them the same expectations that they moved to the urban areas for in the first place,” said Thomas F. Troy, president of Sharbell Development Corp. “They want a single-family home or something close to it, but they still want to walk to the Starbucks, the dry cleaner, the dog park, the place for their kids to be.”
These younger homebuyers, Mr. Troy continued, are choosing older suburbs to live in rather that buying a new home “in a further out suburb.” He said that allows them to have the lifestyle they want, in an affordable environment, to bring up their children.
Michele Brown, the president and CEO of Choose New Jersey, a nonprofit that promotes business in the state, touched on the concept of “micro-apartments,” essentially living spaces no bigger than a bedroom. She said they will be popping up in Jersey City in the next few years, appealing to adults carrying college debt and not ready to buy their first home.
She said they are marketed toward young people “who want their own room” and don’t plan to entertain or really cook there.
“But it’s going to have a great terrace, and it’s going to have an amazing workout place, and you’re going to be able to get your coffee downstairs and you’re going to stop at Whole Foods to get dinner,” she said.
Getting millennials to come to Central Jersey also will mean having employment opportunities for them, said one panelist.
“If we have the jobs for them — that’s the number one thing that will attract them to come here,” said Judson Henderson, broker owner of Callaway Henderson Sotheby’s International Realty.
He cited how the 280-unit AvalonBay development, being constructed in Princeton, seemed tailor made for that demographic. The project is near the downtown, close to the Princeton University campus and roughly a block away from an elementary school and a public park.
“And the affordability still won’t be great, mind you,” he said, “but it will be in keeping with what the market is in Princeton.”
Mr. Henderson said that by way of comparison, a one-bedroom apartment in Princeton rented for $800 a month in 1998. Today, he said that rent is $2,000 a month, on par with places like Boston and San Francisco.
