In the apartment industry it is every single person’s duty, from the apartment developers all the way to the maintenance workers, to figure out what the renters want.  In addition once these needs are identified, it is equally as important, if not more important to be able to supply renters with as many of these wishes to ensure the property of succeeds.

Apartment living is overall a very transient lifestyle and very rarely will you meet someone that has lived in the same apartment for a large number of years.  People move for all sorts of reasons, whether it’s just for a change a scenery, a job relocation, or in order to cut back on some costs, individuals that live in apartments will always move more than your typical house dwellers.

Ultimately apartment employees do not want residents to move, because that leads to numerous amounts of vacant apartments, which causes lack of income coming in. Therefore, the million dollar question to answer becomes “What is it that renters want?”

Apartments.com conducts a survey a few times a year to get inside the mind of the average apartment renter to figure out what exactly it is that people are looking for.  Is it location that is of utmost importance?  Are there certain amenities that some people must have?  Do prospects put more weight on having larger floor plans, or better views?

The results of the survey are always interesting to analyze, because they will change depending upon the time of the year.  The most recent survey comes from February of 2011 and gives some great insight into what renters are looking for right now.  Here are some highlights from the 1,800 individuals polled:

-28.8% were moving to relocate for employment opportunities
-20.3% of those that previously owned a home are moving, because renting is more affordable
-26.3% are searching 1-2 months in advance of their desired move-in date
-48.3% said cost was the most important search criteria
-The top three resources people were using to search for their apartment are all online resources

Take a look at the complete results of the survey and see if there are any surprises you find.  What’s the main reason that you either have individuals moving to your community, or moving out of your community?