Gen Y: 4 in 10 Considered “Urban”

LOS ANGELES—At the annual USC Gould Real Estate Law and Business Forum yesterday, Leanne Lachman, president of Lachman and Associates and the Executive in Residence at the Columbia Business School, joined a team of Gen Y‘ers to discuss how this new generation is changing consumerism and affecting the real estate market. The Gen Y response panel included Alexander F. Knott, VP at Wells Fargo; Jamie Lee, CEO of Jamison Realty; Daniel K. Liffmann, Sidley Austin LLP; and Matthew Lucido, CEO of Porter Inc.

According to Lachman, Gen Y, which includes those born between 1978 and 1995, is now larger than the baby boomer generation, and as such of are major source of demand in the market. Four in 10 millennials consider themselves to be urban people, living either downtown or in another neighborhood within urban boundaries. Because of Los Angeles’ unique urban geography, Los Angeles has a higher percentage of millennials who consider themselves suburbanites.