Pub. 3 2018 Issue 6

12 www.ctaahq.org Apartment Amenities that Sell: J ust as much as you hear what sells is multifamily, behind closed doors apartment leaders are scratching their heads about the next frontier of amenities. Resident and pet pleasures and perks are sliced, diced and stewed in board rooms just about every day. As it is, many rental housing communities are already loaded to the gills with leisure experiences and the latest push-button creature comforts in what’s haled by many as the war on ame- nities. Balconies with views, food storage, cold splash pools, doggie daycare and spas and massage therapy are some of the many incentives that developers offer to boost retention, new leases and rents. It’s become such a part of the vernacular, outstretching the tennis and basketball courts of the 1980s, that industry ana- lysts are mining data in troves to determine what features are deals or duds through amenity valuations. A few years ago the student housing industry fired the splash felt ‘round the industry with sexy lazy rivers and rock climb- ing. But it didn’t last long. These days, student housing leaders realize that some multi-million-dollar investments in big amenities may be going a little overboard, even if the parents are footing the bill for rent. Industry leaders said at conference in Austin, Texas, that students would much rather have a quiet place to study. Back to the Basics