More than half of adults in this country live alone, a number that has climbed steadily over nearly four decades, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
Renting in an apartment community, for many who are on their own, means having close-by neighbors whom they know well and sometimes socialize with in communal spaces designed just for that purpose by multifamily developers.
To entice people to buy homes rather than rent apartments, home builders could find themselves redesigning their single-family communities with more of the amenities of multifamily communities. These amenities could include complexes with shared spaces like communal “home” offices, outdoor dining areas, on-site gyms and even theater screening rooms.
Renters by choice
“More people than ever before are realizing they can call a place ‘home’ without actually owning it,” Eugene R. Diaz of real estate owner/operator Prism Capital Partners, writes in Multi-Housing News. “Renting is a reflection of America’s changing priorities and lifestyles.”
Data from the National Association of Realtors backs that up: A growing number of tenants who rent apartments instead of buying homes are staying out the home-buying market by choice, the numbers reveal.
“The demand for rental living goes beyond simple economics,” adds Diaz, who conceded that many Americans who can’t qualify for mortgages in a tight credit market settle for apartment homes. “Lifestyle preferences are among the factors driving the surge in apartment living.”
Changing designs
Trend watcher Susan Yashinsky of Michigan-based Sphere Trending, tells BUILDER magazine that the country’s 124.6 million single adults—because there are so many—are changing the way housing is designed.
“Greater numbers of singles across all age groups will challenge home building in ways that speak to a market of one versus a market of many,” she says.
To that end, Yashinsky predicts the traditional “static” floor plan will become more flexible to accommodate the needs of platonic, adult housemates as they job hop, move and welcome the replacements who will share their homes.
And housing—whether multifamily or single-family—will have to be affordable enough for a single-income adult who heads a household of one.
Most important, Yashinsky says, builders will have to satisfy the needs of single homeowners that couples usually take care of themselves. Her examples: communal sheds where residents can store and share expensive lawn equipment, and a stable of on-site rental cars.
Indoors, the floor plans that will attract singles of all ages will have space for working from home. And developers may have to negotiate with local authorities to change zoning laws to allow for more unrelated adults to share their homes.
The perks of renting
Forbes confirms that millennials are balking at homeownership not only because it’s expensive, but because they like apartment life.
Their reasons mimic those of single adults and even older adults:
They don’t want to do yard work or home maintenance. Renters don’t have to pay for repairs or spend their weekends working around the house.
They can move any time they want. A month-to-month lease—or even an annual lease—makes short work of suffering noisy neighbors or a bad neighborhood. A homeowner can’t as easily pick up stakes and move away from such annoyances. Plus, singles are more likely to change jobs frequently. A tenant is freer to relocate to another city or state than a homeowner with a house to pay for and take care of.
They like the extras. More apartment buildings come with amenities that the average homeowner might not have in the budget, like electric car charging ports lobby security and concierge services.
They like socializing. Shared kitchens, libraries and TV-watching rooms can create friendships among tenants. And it’s easier to rent an apartment than buy a house in a hip, downtown neighborhood.
For developers of single-family communities to compete with multifamily complexes, more of them are considering incorporating apartment-lifestyle amenities into their subdivisions.