Buying a home, however, is a different matter for them. Millennials are willing to take on a mortgage and make a commitment to the right property, and they are willing to spend time in seeking out agents who can help them find the right home in the right neighborhood.

The current low mortgage rates are far more favorable to them than those accepted by Baby Boomers who entered their 30s in the 1970s, when mortgage rates fluctuated between 8.9 percent and 16 percent. Those Boomers believed their homes would serve as good investments, and would eventually return their investment as they aged and were ready to sell and move to something smaller.

Millennials still see homes as good investments, but the equation is different.

“Millennial buyers have waited on the fence for some time,” says Rob Morrison, an agent at Coldwell Banker. “They’ve saved up more money because they’ve stayed with family, or they’ve lived with friends. We’re seeing a lot more first-time homebuyers in their late 20s and early 30s, where first-time buyers used to be only in their early 20s.”

Having watched property values hit bottom during the housing market crash, they see homeownership as more of a good financial move for the present – as opposed to paying rent – than as a potential payoff far down the road and remain somewhat skeptical of traditional views of the market.

“Interest rates are really low and there are a lot of low down payment options now,” McMillin says. “Rents are higher than ever and ridiculous. I think Millennials need to step back a little from those ultra-expensive rentals and put themselves in something more modest so that they can save up for the down payment and closing costs and get themselves in a position to buy, instead of stretching themselves so thin to get into the best rental they can afford.”

Ultimately, Millennials are looking for easy access to the market, value-added help from their agents and coaxing over the rental fence. Agents who can tap into this mysterious generation are poised for success when this generation of buyers is ready to take the plunge into homeownership. CA