I work with a lot of first timers and millennials as I am one myself.  

Most millennials are ditching the suburbs for the city lifestyle, so it would certainly be more lucrative to have a buy and hold there.

The Millennial generation has a higher preference to rent.  

In Newport Beach, we're better off targeting millennials with good jobs because they typically are too busy working, still saving for a home and are thankful to have a nice place to live.

I recently heard of a conference with top real estate executives that had a panel of 5 millennials.The millennials sat on stage and these executives asked them questions about where they eat, what they do at night, where they want to live, etc.How often is everyone taking millennial activity into account when making investments?

If you look back at how almost every area has gentrified in the past, they all start the same way with 'artists' migrating from an overpriced neighborhood into a new low-income neighborhood, and opening up coffee shops & other millennial-esque stores.

In 2018, these "artists" can be replaced by millennial hipsters that open coffee shops, juice bars, and hot yoga studios in low income areas subsequently causing the area to get increasingly better over time.Has anyone else noticed this trend?

Millennials love it and don't have to deal with checks, etc. 

Those that don't stay ahead of the curve will be left behind.I'd be more concerned about the various factors playing into home ownership trends if your investment vehicle is SFH - such as home ownership among millennials, aging population, consumer and student debt, etc. 

A large portion of millennials will rent or live with parents and keep on dreaming to buy a home.