As more people are choosing to rent deeper into their lives than ever before, the things people expect from an apartment unit and a rental community are changing. For many, apartment living is no long a stop along the way, but a viable option for people who do not find homeownership appealing. Because of this, what people expect out of apartment communities has changed, as well.
As The Washington Post reports, people expect to get many of the same luxuries found in single-family homes in their apartments. Things like granite countertops, washers and dryers, and high-end fixtures are all becoming the norm. However, many people are willing to sacrifice some living space and the luxuries that come with it for a community packed with amenities, and the socializing that comes with those amenities.
The results from the National Apartment Association survey found that of the top 10 community amenities, five of them involve bringing people together. Clubhouses and common areas for socializing, fitness centers, business centers, and pet-friendly amenities were all included.
Studies about which amenities renters prefer help to design communities with the type of things they will actually pay for, eliminating some of the issues associated with what building owners provide, and what renters want.
BD+C's sibling publication, Multifamily Design + Construction, is conducting its own survey of designers, contractors, builders, and developers on what amenities they have specified in the last 24 months. Please take 3-4 minute to take the survey yourself. Click here to get started.
Related Stories
Multifamily Housing | Oct 20, 2015
Builder confidence rises on multifamily’s strength
Starts and completions were up solidly in September, but permits are leveling off.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 16, 2015
Textile factory turned multifamily has train tracks running through it
The Counting House Lofts is a 200-year-old building that still has its train tracks, exterior train bay doors, and a watch house tower.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 15, 2015
Montreal apartment is world’s largest residential cross-laminated timber project
Its 434 condo, townhouse, and rental units in three eight-story buildings are made from sustainably harvested wood turned into panels by Canadian company Nordic Wood Structures together with the Cree Nation in Chibougamau.
Sponsored | Multifamily Housing | Oct 15, 2015
Apartment takes progressive turn in architecturally traditional D.C.
The new Lyric 440K Apartments is a 14-story structure housing 234 one- and two-bedroom units in the heart of D.C.'s up-and-coming Mount Vernon Triangle
Multifamily Housing | Oct 12, 2015
Freddie Mac: Multifamily demand should outpace supply through 2016
Vacancy rates and rent growth are “converging” in most markets.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 7, 2015
BIG designs lush, terraced mixed-use building in Sweden
Cascading glass and wooden cubes create a form similar to Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway rock formation.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 6, 2015
Multifamily completions in buildings with 50 or more units continues to climb
The Census Bureau estimates that 255,600 multifamily housing units were completed in 2014 in buildings with at least five or more units, representing a 37.3% increase over the previous year and the highest total in those multi-unit structures since 2009.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 2, 2015
Utilities should do more to give building owners energy use information
Owners of multi-tenant buildings lack basic information.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 1, 2015
Wiel Arets unveils twin, 558-foot mixed-use towers in Bahrain’s capital
The development, Bahrain Bay Tower, will consist of two residential towers connected “by a plinth of retail, office, parking, and public park space.”
Multifamily Housing | Sep 29, 2015
The developer that planned a mosque near Ground Zero now proposes a five-star condo tower instead
Sharif El-Gamal of Soho Properties is looking to cash in while lower Manhattan’s real estate market stays hot.
