Environmentally conscious young people are heading towards real estate sales with low-cost, well-made products.
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USA TODAY
Vienna, Virginia – – At noon on a recent summer Friday, about 20 cars were parked along the wooden lined Kaldo Assac, a 30-minute suburb from the country’s capital.
The blue garden sign invited people to their homes on the edge of the street and sent a simple, beckoning message, “Real estate sales like this.” Women in their 20s and 30s meandered into cars carrying cardboard boxes loaded with books, holiday decorations, clothing and picture frames.
Scenes like this are becoming more common across the country. Young people looking to shop in a more sustainable way are drawn to real estate sales rather than large retailers to find low-cost well-made products.
Over the past six months, the online real estate sales market has seen all but everything, but many of them are driven by young people, said James Ferguson’s chief executive. The company said it had an 18% increase in sales among people aged 25-35 in the first half of the year.
“There’s probably a concept of quality and value from what’s been used gently in my previous life, and we call it a pre-loving,” he said. “They have seen the opportunity to get something unique.”
Rising real estate sales
Raquel Sobczak, 25, began taking part in real estate sales after the Covid-19 pandemic, finding deals on clothing and trinkets that she could use to decorate her home. This year, she said she had promised to buy only second-hand items.
Currently, residents of Arlington, Virginia said they attend sales at least two or three times a month.
“It’s good for the environment, but it’s better for my wallet to go forward and buy things,” said Sobczak while shopping for the July 18th real estate sales.
“I’m not where I can afford to pay hundreds of dollars for this,” the 25-year-old said he was lifting up a gorgeous cuffed bracelet with priced stickers hanging from the side. “But I managed to give 20 dollars.”
The growing interest in real estate sales for Gen Z consumers has followed a wider demand among age cohorts of second-hand goods over the past decade. Young people have started to visit resale stores like goodwill, with the desire to reduce their carbon footprint and shop more sustainably.
In 2021 alone, 42% of Gen Z and Millennials said they had bought second-hand clothes, according to a survey conducted by online commissioned website ThreadUp.
Some young people told USA Today they are turning to real estate sales after finding stocks overrunning fast fashion and cheap items at Thrift and Vintage shops.
“If you’re going to sell your property, you’re probably going to find the real treasures people have been cared for,” said Eddie Guy, 27, who lives in Mount Vernon, Virginia. “You sometimes find it at thrift stores, but I feel like it’s getting less and less because everyone donates to the cutting shop just to clean it out of the house.”
Guy said she came to the real estate sales with her mother and grandmother as a child, but she wasn’t interested in them until after graduating from college and needed to decorate her new apartment.
When she and her husband tried to provide their first home, Guy said the sale of the property was a life and money savings.
“The quality you get is unparalleled,” she said. “We can get incredibly high quality made pieces for $300 for something mass-produced online, like $5,000.”
Attracting young consumers
Some real estate sales companies are beginning to take advantage of the growing interest from younger generations.
According to Marika Clemow, EstatesAles.NET, an online marketplace and directory of in-house real estate sales, is taking steps to attract Z and millennial consumers to social media on social media.
“We can appeal to them more. We don’t just buy something for a fairly decent price that is durable and lasts longer, and we don’t put more plastic on the planet,” Cremou said. “This generation is a little more open to items in real estate sales, not feeling like old, worn, or old reusable.”
The rising inflation and tariff concerns could also be linked to the new appeal of Gen Z’s real estate sales.
Over the past six months, Cremou said he saw an increase in people searching the digital market for durable goods, such as furniture, tools, school supplies and babywear. Meanwhile, searches for luxury items like Rolex watches are immersed.
Diane Rotondo, who runs the Blue Moon Estate sales franchise in Fairfax County, Virginia, said there is similar demand for furniture. A few years ago, Rotondo said he couldn’t let people buy antique four poster bed frames, and now the younger consumers are taking them early.
“The cost of products is rising, making it even more impossible to get what you like,” Rotondo said. “When you can go find something you really like, you can pay much less than what you do in the store, it’s just a fun experience.”
When asked about her belief that she is attracting more people to real estate sales, Rotondo said “adventure.”
“It gives someone the opportunity to make hunting a gem in modern times,” she said. “It’s like a small museum, but you can buy it and take a new journey instead of finishing in a landfill.”
