Potential Renter Looking At Building With Mismatched Rental Amenities

Where are Renters Struggling to Find Homes with the Amenities they Desire?

Supply & Demand of Rental Amenities

 
In Apartment List’s new study, researchers analyzed a renter survey to discover unique insights into which amenities renters are seeking in their next home. In some locations, the amenities that renters are looking for don’t always match what is available on the market, which creates a mismatch in what renters want vs. what renters are getting. With the amount of U.S. renters at an extremely high rate, more and more people are looking for those hard-to-find amenities.
 

The most under supplied amenity? In-unit laundry

 
53 percent of renters are looking for a home that has in-unit laundry, while only 13 percent of properties supply it, making it the hardest amenity to find. The lack of in-unit laundry supply is likely due to the upfront cost of amenity, but it is an amenity that is highly sought after from renters.
 

What are the most desired rental amenities?

 
Although in-unit laundry is the most under supplied amenity, parking and air conditioning are also lacking. These two are the most desired rental amenities among renters, with 56 percent of renters citing a preference for air conditioning, and 55 percent looking for a home with parking. The gap between supply and demand is lower for these two, but still pretty high. 46 percent have parking, and only 39 percent of properties have air conditioning. The below chart compares the share of properties that have each amenity to the share of users that report a preference for that amenity. The numbers are based on the national average.
 
Most Undersupplied Rental Amenities Chart

What cities have the most demanding renters? The least demanding?

 
Preferences for rental amenities very city-by-city. We noticed that renters tend to be the most demanding in more affordable cities. Renters that are living in more expensive cities are often more lenient on their demands, and will take what they can get in their price range.
 

San Antonio has the most demanding renters

 
San Antonio dominates the list for highest amenity demand, with the greatest share of renters requesting five of the 10 amenities we analyzed. This makes a ton of sense due to the heat in Texas being so high, and many renters absolutely needing air conditioning and a pool. Another factor is the affordability of San Antonio. With a relatively low median two-bedroom rent price of $1,050, renters may be open to spending up in order to find a home that offers all the rental amenities they need to survive the intense Texas weather.
 

Renters in expensive metros take what they can get

 
New York City has some of the nation’s least demanding renters. With New York being the second most expensive market in the United States, it makes sense that renters are okay with passing up on a few of their desired amenities in order to find a home within their budget. This correlation between affordability and renter demand holds true in other cities as well. San Francisco and Boston renters shared similar demand trends to New York renters. The other side also holds, as renters in cheaper metros like Phoenix and Tampa are extremely demanding.

This article and study were contributed to Property Manager Insider by Chris Salviati of Apartment List’s Rentonomics team. Chris is a housing economist at Apartment List, where he conducts research on economic trends in the housing market. Chris previously worked as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve and an economic consultant, and he has BA and MA degrees in economics from Boston University.

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