DENVER (KDVR) – New research by real estate website Zillow shows what renters nationwide want from property amenities, and it may not be what you expect.
The analysis looked at nearly 5.6 million rental listings and included both apartment buildings and single-family homes.
According to Zillow, certain amenities triggered more people to share or save a listing compared to others, which the website said shows demand.
One notable thing that triggered a much higher save and share rate was off-street parking, which saw 85% more saves and 103% more shares per day than those that don’t have the amenity listed. Similarly, reserved parking triggered 52% more saves and 51% more shares.
Rental listings that mentioned what many might consider “luxury” amenities actually saw fewer saves and shares. Fitness centers triggered 26% fewer saves and 31% fewer shares while pools caused saves to drop by 10% and shares by 13%, according to Zillow.
Places that offer a happy hour to residents, however, did see a jump. Listings with that amenity had 50% more shares and 67% more saves than those that did not.
Stylistic choices also had an impact, with mentions of butcher block countertops, modern farmhouse style and barn doors all generating higher shares and saves in listings.
The following amenities all prompted 50% more saves or shares, according to Zillow:
- Off-street parking: 85% more saves, 103% more shares
- In-unit laundry: 76% more saves, 92% more shares
- Turf (pet area): 76% more saves, 91% more shares
- Air filtration: 72% more saves, 79% more shares
- Finished basement: 72% more saves, 112% more shares
- Butcher block countertops: 58% more saves, 69% more shares
- Barn door: 56% more saves, 72% more shares
- Reserved parking: 52% more saves, 51% more shares
- Modern farmhouse: 51% more saves, 61% more shares
- Happy hour: 50% more saves, 67% more shares
According to another recent report by Zillow, the typical asking rent nationwide was $2,063 as of August, a 0.2% increase from July.
However, that wasn’t the case everywhere: According to Zillow, average rent dropped in eight metro areas from July to August: Austin is down 0.9%, Boston is down 0.4%, Orlando is down 0.1%, Atlanta is down 0.1% and Denver is down 0.1%.
US rents have risen by just over a third since the start of the pandemic or 33.6%.