What Amenities Matter Most?

The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

What Amenities Matter Most?

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What Amenities Matter Most?

Welcome to the Real Estate Espresso Podcast, your morning shot of what’s new in the world of real estate investing. I’m your host, Victor Menasce.

On today’s show, we’re talking about amenities, not in the abstract, not as a checklist, and not as a race to add more stuff, but as a lens into tenant psychology, into allocation of capital, and disciplined product design.

Folks at Greystar published their latest amenities and apartment features market study, based on a survey from 2023 to 2024. And while it’s tempting to read this kind of report as a menu of what to add, that’s maybe the wrong way to think about it. It’s not a prescription, it’s a diagnostic.

The folks at Greystar are the largest owner and operator of apartments across the US. So with about 100,000 units in almost every state, they can speak on the topic with some level of authority.

Let’s start with the headline trend. What renters say they want is shifting away from purely functional amenities toward experiential and social ones. We’re talking outdoor cinemas, gaming rooms, on-site clubhouses. These saw the biggest increase in interest year-over-year. Outdoor cinema interest alone jumped from 43 to 50 percent of respondents saying that they are either interested in it or would not rent without it.

It’s not about watching movies outdoors. It’s about a shared experience. It’s about identity. It’s about a building becoming a place and not just a container for apartments.

At the same time, interest in some of the previous must-have features is declining. Electric vehicle charging stations saw a drop in stated interest from 31 to 28 percent. Reserved parking declined from 72 to 69 percent.

Now, before you draw the wrong conclusion, that doesn’t mean that EV charging is unimportant. In fact, the expected rent premium for EV charging increased from $59 to $66 a month, but fewer people say they require it. If it matters, it matters, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. But if you do care about it, you are willing to pay more. That’s an important distinction. Interest and pricing power are not the same thing.

One of the most valuable insights in the study is the separation between what people say they want and what they’re actually willing to pay for. On-site car-sharing is a great example. It showed the largest increase in expected rent premium—up 11 percent year-over-year—despite relatively small overall interest.

This tells us something important. Some amenities are mass appeal; others are niche amenities that can represent additional revenue streams. Treating them the same is how projects become over-amenitized and underperform.

So, let’s talk about amenities that feel intuitive but are quietly losing relevance. Concierge services and lobby attendance both declined in that must-have category. It’s not because the service is unimportant; it’s because expectations have changed. App-based interaction and frictionless access have replaced the traditional doorman model in many markets. People want convenience, not ceremony.

Pet-related amenities do continue to matter, but even here, there’s nuance that’s important. Dog parks and pet washing stations are still valued, but they’re not the differentiators anymore. They are table stakes in many submarkets. You don’t win by adding them; you simply avoid losing.

So, let’s look now inside the units. And, by the way, over the next several days, we’re going to be breaking down their market survey and going into very specific aspects. On today’s show, we’re just looking at some of the high-level findings.

Walk-in closets are one of the largest increases in expected rent premium among apartment features, rising to about eighty bucks a month. That’s meaningful. Storage isn’t sexy, but it’s deeply personal. It speaks to livability, not marketing.

Wall-mounted TV brackets also saw the largest increase year-over-year. That sounds trivial until you realize what it represents. It’s flexibility, it’s clean design, the ability to personalize the space without damaging the walls. Small features that reduce friction often outperform expensive ones that look great in renderings.

On the other hand, space for a dining table saw one of the largest declines in interest. It’s not that people don’t eat; it’s because lifestyles have changed. Multifunctional spaces matter more than formal ones. Open plans continue to perform well, not because they’re trendy, but because they are able to adapt to different uses.

Here’s the trap that I want developers to avoid. Don’t read this study and start adding amenities because the spreadsheet says tenants like them. That’s backwards. Amenities should reinforce the positioning and not dilute it. Every amenity has a capital cost, an operating cost, and an opportunity cost.

The real question is not what amenities are popular. The real question is: which amenities reinforce the story we’re telling to that specific customer? If you’re building workforce housing and you add a karaoke room because the survey says the interest is up, you’ve misunderstood the data. If you’re building an urban infill project targeting young professionals and you skip social spaces entirely, you’ve also missed the point.

The most dangerous move is to blend towards the average. That’s how you end up with a building that has everything and stands for nothing.

From a capital allocation standpoint, amenities should be underwritten like any other investment. What is the incremental cost? What’s the incremental revenue? And, just as importantly, what risk does it mitigate? Faster lease-up, lower turnover, stronger renewal rates—these are all economic benefits, even though they don’t show up as line items in your financial model.

So this study reinforces something that I’ve been saying for years. The future of multifamily is not about adding necessarily more features; it’s about designing experiences that align with how people actually live, and that’s looking at the product through the lens of product design. Use the data to sharpen your positioning. Let it inform your questions and not dictate the answers.

As you think about that, have an awesome rest of your day. Go make some great things happen. We’ll talk to you again tomorrow.

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