The 80 million people born between 1979 and 2000 will have the biggest impact on the US housing market for the next ten to fifteen years. Call them 'echo boomers' or 'millenials', either way they have very different needs for housing than their parents did. Developers realized this long ago and have been making adjustments almost as fast as the millenials change jobs. The various studies cited in this article all emphasize that 'echo boomers are known for their preoccupation with socializing', so Gen Y'ers will trade a smaller living space for being close to the action. In this case 'action' can mean coffee bars and bass-thumping nightclubs. If you want to see the data that supports all the theories click on over.
· Developers Give Gen Y What They Want [UrbanLand]