On the surface, much of what leads residents to lease an apartment is intuitive. The location of the apartment community, the functionality of the unit, the rent – these are obvious. Furthermore, it stands to reason that these primary decision drivers wouldn’t change all that much based on the demographics of a particular resident (the resident’s age, for example).
In fact, Kingsley Associates’ recent research bears this out. The first chart below displays the top four initial lease decision factors, as indicated by respondents to Kingsley Associates’ surveys in the past year. Each is described as a “high” or “very high” priority by well over 75% of residents, and there is no appreciable difference across age groups. One interesting note is that of these, only the rental rate is truly variable in the short term, and with the increasing prevalence of revenue management software, even that may not be terribly flexible.
But a deeper look into the secondary factors that underlie the leasing decision uncovers a different story. Not only are the items in the chart below more actionable by community staff, but they also vary a great deal depending on the age of the new resident in question. Community staff / management leads this list, and the impression they convey is especially important to older residents. Not surprisingly, online rating feedback resonates particularly strongly with younger residents (for more on this hot topic, see “Wrestling with Online Apartment Ratings Services“). What may be surprising is that the reverse is true when it comes to “green” or environmentally sustainable practices: the importance of this increases with the age of the resident.
The central message, then, is twofold. First, apartment staff can only focus on what is actionable, and that means largely themselves! Second, once the basics are covered, knowing what your specific target market wants is critical in crafting the right message to close new leases.
Tags: multifamily, real estate industry trends, resident surveys
Kingsley Associates’ Phil Mobley will be part of a panel discussion entitled “Higher Standards of Care: Delivering Property Management Excellence” at the 2011 BOMA Medical Office Buildings & Healthcare Real Estate Facilities Seminar in Dallas from May 4-6. Download the 
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