Millennials are now the largest generation in the world, and they are shaping everything from the housing market to consumer trends, according to the Pew Research Center. The ever-growing age cohort’s spending power is expected to reach $1.4 trillion annually in 2020, according to Accenture; as they have started to settle down and form families of their own, according to the National Association of Realtors, they have also become one of the most active generations of homebuyers in the nation. .

As real estate developers, builders and land owners compete for millennials’ spending power and better understand their buying motivations, they will need to determine which amenities are a must-have to generate loyalty to an area and long-term ROI.

Enter: Live-Work-Play-Learn

According to the National Association of Realtor’s 2019 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report, proximity to quality education options is a big draw for millennial homebuyers. When deciding which neighborhood to live in, “Quality of the school district” and “Convenient to schools” were cited as some of the top influencing factors by people younger than 28 years-old and those between 29 and 38 years-old. This should come as no surprise as millennials are now parents to 50% of today’s children, with more than 1 million millennial women becoming new mothers annually, according to the National Retail Federation.

Despite this, there is currently a serious shortage of quality early childhood education and care in the United States. In fact, 51% of people in the United States currently live in child care deserts, which are defined by the Center for American Progress as “any census tract with more than 50 children under age five that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.” This phenomenon has resulted in an unmet, nationwide demand for quality early education and care options.

This is where developers, builders and key stakeholders come into play. The national need for child care is an enormous untapped opportunity, and these services are an amazing value-added asset for residents and real estate owners alike.

Early education and care centers are a flexible solution for imperfect spaces, making them a great way for developers and owners to break into high-barrier-to-entry markets or hard-to-fill commercial and office spaces. For instance, Primrose Schools, which focuses on early education and care, has a prototype that allows for a variety of construction methods and atypical building sites. One of their locations was built as part of a 53-acre mixed-use community, acting as an attractive amenity to the project’s more than 840 residential units while complementing its 66,000 square feet of retail outlets. Another, located in a historically underserved area for early childhood education, transformed a functionally obsolete and outdated warehouse into a much-needed resource for the community.

Moreover, early education and care comprises a growing $57 billion industry, and that number is expected to rise with an anticipated 4.5% per annum growth rate over next five years, according to IBISWorld. Child care services have been able to consistently withstand market volatility. Plus, where other goods and services have fallen at the hands of online retailers, child care continues to be an internet-resistant asset facing little-to-no digital competition. Moreover, early childhood education acts as a strong anchor for other businesses in their proximity, driving consistent foot traffic and steady revenue streams to its neighbors as parents frequent locations twice-a-day, five-days-a-week.

As millennials continue to settle down and start families, the demand for high-quality early childhood education and care options throughout the country will only increase. Luckily, a positive market outlook, the potential for strong ROI, and flexible site requirements make these assets incredibly appealing to real estate developers, builders and consumers alike. By creating live-work-play-learn communities, real estate professionals, developers and investors can stay ahead of the curve while supporting the nation’s larger vision for the future.