They type of amenities you have to offer at your smaller rentals or larger apartment community will have a direct impact on your bottom-line.
According to the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), 20% of renters say that the reason why theyve decided to move to a different apartment community is to seek out better community amenities.
Therefore, if your target renter demographic doesnt like the amenities offered at your multifamily property, there is an increased likelihood that they will vacate and move to one of your competitors.
One way to determine the amenities that are in demand in your market is to create an amenities checklist when underwriting deals. That is, locate the most sought-after apartment communities in the market, create a spreadsheet that lists out all of their exterior and interior amenities, calculate the rent per square foot, and determine how much you could raise the rents at the property you are underwriting if you were to add those amenities (along with an interior value-add business plan).
Another strategy is to determine what prospective residents are searching for when looking to a place to live. Here are the top amenities categories renters are searching for on Apartments.com, the most visited apartment listing site in the country, in 2019:
The first category of amenities that renters are searching for are shared outdoor amenities. The top amenities are outdoor community spaces like fire pits, brick ovens, rooftop terraces, private balconies, hiking and bike trails, bike cleaning station, pet cleaning station.
In fact, balcony space and dog-friendly were top keywords searched on Apartments.com.
Similarly, renters are also searching for shared indoor amenities when considering a place to rent. These indoor community spaces include coffee shops, movie theaters, spas, salons, music rooms, golf simulators, and wine cellars.
68% of renters search for 1-bed and 2-bed units on Apartments.com, so shared outdoor and indoor amenities allow them to meet neighbors and enjoy activities that obviously don't fit in their smaller units, all without having to leave the apartment grounds.
In the age of constant technological innovates, renters desire Smart devices in their homes in order to automate tasks that were previously manual. These include smart locks so that they can unlock and lock their doors from their phones, and smart thermostats that allow them to change the room temperature on their phones.
Examples of desired eco-friendly amenities include sustainability and green programs, like low-flow showerheads or Smart showerheads that allows you to track water usage and control the water temperature on your cell phone cell phone, on-site renewable energy, and car sharing services.
Overall, you want to make sure you are staying up-to-date with the types of amenities your renter demographic desires. As you can see from this blog post, the hottest trend right now are smart devices. For more information on the best smart device brands,
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