Millennials are now the biggest segment of the housing market, which means that homeownership programs are eyeing them closely. Aged mortgage leads among this group are shooting up, which means agents like you are going to encounter the famed millennial more and more in your lead prospecting and cold calling work. Let me share with you some recent mortgage news that suggests it could be time for you to focus on FHA mortgage leads for millennials.
New York State’s “Graduate to Homeownership” Program
First, a new state-level program was just announced in Upstate New York, further away from the buzz of NYC, and a place that has a bit more difficulty getting young workers to settle in and support the local tax revenue fund. Enter Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new “Graduate to Homeownership” Program:
A new $5 million Graduate to Homeownership Program was announced at the [Finger Lakes Community College] Geneva campus before students, college and community leaders. Lt. Gov., Kathy Hochul, on a panel with local leaders, unveiled Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to help recent college graduates become first-time homeowners.
“More and more, young people today are looking to work and live in downtown areas with easy access to community restaurants, shopping, transportation, and culture,” said Hochul, mentioning the tourism, agriculture, and recreation that make the Finger Lakes a desirable place to live. “The new Grad to Homeownership program completes the package by providing our graduates with the opportunity to buy homes in our downtowns, increasing their attractiveness as places to live, work and raise a family right in upstate New York,” she said.
Ready-to-Close Aged Mortgage Leads
The new program is open to first-time homebuyers who’ve graduated from a 2-year, 4-year, or graduate school program in the last 4 years, and who are buying a home in one of the eight Upstate New York pilot communities (Geneva, Jamestown, Elmira, Oswego, Oneonta, Plattsburgh, Glens Falls, and Middletown).
Pay attention to how generous this deal is, and not just regarding qualifying terms. These Millennial borrowers can get subsidized low-interest rate mortgages, down-payment assistance loans of between $3,000 and $15,000, access to other subsidies and resources, and homebuyer counseling and education.
The thinking behind this program is clear: government officials at the state and local levels are very keen to help young adults become homeowners.
Fannie Mae’s “Innovative Solutions” for Student Loan Debt
However, New York’s efforts aren’t the only new mortgage news. Last month, Federal mortgage giant Fannie Mae announced a series of new “Innovative Solutions” to help young Millennial borrowers with student loan debt become homeowners.
Fannie Mae says the program will:
- give homeowners the opportunity to pay down student debt with a mortgage refinance,
- allow borrowers to exclude non-mortgage debt paid by others as part of the loan application process, and
- make it more likely for borrowers with student debt to qualify for a mortgage loan by allowing lenders to accept student debt payments included on credit reports.
HousingWire says the nation’s $1.4 trillion in student loan debt is locking millions of buyers out of the housing market. “We arrived at these product ideas after seeing the size of student loan debt, which is $1.4 trillion,” Jonathan Lawless, vice president of customer solutions at Fannie Mae, told HousingWire. “But there’s another number to pay attention to — $8 trillion in home equity… We wanted to find a way to unlock that equity.”
Not all commentators thought this was a good idea, but the intention from government administrators is the same: they’re working to get more millennials buying homes.
Millennials and Your Mortgage Leads Opportunity
For sales agents, there are two big things to take away here. One, this large generation, known as the millennials, is growing up, starting careers, starting families, and buying homes. Two, from local to federal levels, governments are shifting resources and policy to support these millennial mortgage leads in their house-buying quest.
It always makes our job of lead prospecting, and cold calling mortgage leads easier when we’ve got the wind in our sails like we do here. Hence, this is an excellent opportunity for mortgage leads and aged mortgage leads, particularly FHA mortgage leads.
Final Thoughts
Economists have long been saying that student loan debt and down payment issues were the big hurdles for millennial mortgage leads. Government focus is shifting to help these young adults with those areas.
Meanwhile, other housing issues are adding to a sense of urgency for home-shoppers to act soon. At the moment, home prices and interest rates are rising, and deregulation and economic growth are moving in a positive direction.
The summer housing season is just around the corner, a great opportunity to work FHA mortgage leads for these Millennial borrowers.
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