Definition: In used to describe the overall appearance and marketability of the property as it relates to other comparable properties in the market or submarket; factors include actual and effective age, structural and aesthetic appeal, physical condition, functional utility, etc.
The millennial attitude toward work is very different than it was for Generation X or the Baby Boomers. While being extremely savvy with technology (we are the “Facebook” generation after all), millennials work to live, not live to work. Slaving away to prove our worth and escalate up the corporate ladder at a Fortune 500 company for 40-50 years until we finally retire is not the goal of our generation (no offense, parents and grandparents! ). Instead we are a generation of efficiency, technology, creativity, and experiences. While we understand the necessity of working to make money and provide a sense of accomplishment, we value our personal lives substantially more than the generations before us and the feeling of obligation to make an appearance at the office just to give a boss some “face time” has diminished over the last few years due to three very disparate reasons: 1) significant advancements in technology, 2) more “millennipreneurs” and telecommuters than ever, and 3) seeing how much our parents and grandparents missed out on in their lives. The combination of these three factors along with the worldview it has cultivated in the millennial generation will have an interesting effect on commercial real estate in the coming years – by increasing telecommuting and the freelance workforce, it is bound to also increase office vacancies in the cities millennials are most concentrated in.
