How much did you consider your pet when purchasing your home? Turns out, many millennials cite "furry family members" as a key factor in their home-buying decision.
When Molly Free was looking for her East Nashville home, she had her Pomeranian, Deacon, in mind.
"I don't have kids, just 'D.' He's my fur-child," she said.
Turns out, fur-children are big factors when millennials look for their first home.
"I think that we see that a lot with millennials. Their buying practices are different, their habits all around their buying habits are different. And that's reflective in the survey that we did recently and got back some interesting information," said Brian Bills with SunTrust.
In fact, according to the recent survey by SunTrust, 33 percent of millennials said the desire to have more space or a yard for their pet influenced their decision to buy their first home. Only 25 percent cited marriage/upcoming marriage. Nineteen percent said the birth of a child was a factor.
Among millennials who have never purchased a home, the SunTrust survey discovered that 42 percent of millennials cite their dog - or their desire to have one - is a key factor in their desire to purchase a home in the future.
"We're shifting our mindset away from what we see the previous generation going through in their buying cycles, to what these upcoming generations are looking for," said Bills, "The number one and number two items were space and building equity with dogs as the third consideration, ahead of marriage and children."
"Deacon is a huge part of my life. he's my best friend. He's my roommate. I'll always have a dog. If I'm married and have kids. I think have a dog even when you have a family is such a good experience, so he'll always for sure be a factor," said Free.
