Marketing Your Rental Property to Millennials

Who Are the Millennials?

Millennials are a generation born between 1981 and 1996 and are now between ages 22 and 37 years old. Also known as the “Net Generation” because they were raised during the Internet era, and do not know any other life prior to the launch of the Internet. They are also referred to as “Generation Me” because they feel like the deserve “it,” that is, a lot of my time.

A Brookings Institution study indicated that millennials will comprise more than 1 in 3 adult Americans by the year 2020. That is a HUGE Portion of our population. Millennials are the last and largest generation to be born during the 20th Century. Today, around 25% to 27% of Los Angeles’ population is classified as Millennials. With more than 5 million people in the City of Los Angeles alone, this means more than 1 million Millennials are potential renters. There are 18 million people living in the Greater Los Angeles Region, so you do the math! That’s a lot of Millennials.

Raised during and in the aftermath of “The Great Recession of 2008,” Millennials tend to be more cautious and over-research most decisions, particularly housing choices. It is estimated that 46% of Millennials live with student loan debt equal to, on average, $27,000. That means they will be renting for a far longer time than previous generations.

Millennials in the Information Age of Renting

Nearly 99% of Millennials use online platforms to search for housing, while about 1% percent merely drove by a for rent sign before going online to find out more information about a rental property. It has been estimated that 80% of renters start their home search online and typically visit up to four locations before making a housing decision.

They were born into a World where everything is online, and Millennials almost exclusively use Internet platforms and mobile applications for home hunting before ever seeing the unit in person. Online resources such as Apartment Guide, Rent.com, Apartments.com, Zillow, Apartment List, Craigslist, RadPad, etc. are often utilized by Millennials to search for housing. As management companies and rental housing providers, we must utilize the Internet as well as services that syndicate listings to many online rental sites in order to gain as much exposure as possible. A property website can be a great tool. Even Facebook has countless groups that are dedicated to helping fellow Millennials find apartments throughout the Greater Los Angeles Area. In listing a property, be creative with social media and expand your page with live walkthroughs of vacancies. If you are not getting enough page views for your property, you are losing revenue. This is not just limited to Millennials.

Images utilized online are important. Through listing photos, three dimensional walkthroughs and videos, Millennials can immerse themselves into a unit without leaving their chair. Professional photography is a must to stand out from the competition, and high-quality photographs show that you value the image of your property. Three-dimensional floor plans are offered by several companies like Resident360 or 3DPlan. Whether videos are prepared by a professional or on your smartphone, walk-through videos are very helpful when leasing to renters that are from out of state. Again, these extra steps are a way to rent your vacant units faster and; therefore, gain income.

Neighborhood Information is Critical

Websites like Walk Score provide detailed information and statistics about given areas. Millennials often take a virtual walk-through of neighborhoods by using Google Maps Street View to preview their commute. Do not just let renters do all the work, add the Walk Score to your online advertising and add nearby businesses. As beneficial as Google Maps Street View can be, make sure it has a current image. If your neighborhood went through a major gentrification and someone views an old map view, it might cost you a renter. Always be on the lookout for your Website presence!

Online Reviews

As they search for an apartment that interests them, Millennials often use websites like Yelp or Google to find honest reviews (good or bad) from their peers. Offer incentives to tenants to write reviews and increase the traffic on your Website pages, and again, always be on the lookout for your Website presence! A bad review, whether it is true or false, can make or break a potential lease – be sure to respond to reviews and attempt to overcome dishonest reviews. Seeking the help of a professional company may be the way to go.

Price Point

Many Millennials are experiencing financial hardships, which makes them more likely to rent for longer periods instead of looking to purchase homes right away. Growing up during and after the Great Recession, they grew into a restricted labor market, limited job prospects and income opportunities, which adversely pushed back important financial decisions, including home-buying. Therefore, Millennials are more likely to compromise a budget for amenities and convenience. The must haves are amenities that most enticed renters to move into a rental property include:

• $100.00 more for the same unit with a walk-in closet? (70% of renters surveyed)
• $75.00 more per month for in unit washer and dryer? (69% of renters surveyed)
• $50.00 more per month for a balcony? (53% of renters surveyed)

Neighborhood Location and Walkability

Millennials are always looking to live locally and conveniently, that is why so many are looking near neighborhoods that are convenient to grocery stores, public transportation, their jobs, employment opportunities and local entertainment. Millennials appreciate apartment communities that utilize grocery services such as Instacart, Yummy.com, Milk and Eggs, Amazon Fresh, or local grocery deliver from neighboring stores like Vons. Consider giving a move-in gift by offering the first delivery free for new tenants (delivery only ranges from $5.00 to $20.00).

Transportation is Important

Many Millennials no longer purchase automobiles due to the popularity of rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft, and due to their student debt. In addition to the ride sharing companies, many communities are offering options of automobile co-ownership companies such as Maven, Canvas or ZipCar. You may attract several carless renters who have not seen these transportation options living in other communities.

Characteristics and Amenities Being Sought Out by the Millennial Generation

Millennials are a generation born between 1981 and 1996 and are now between ages 22 and 37 years old. Authors William Strauss and Neil Howe are widely credited with naming the millennials when they first “coined” the term in 1987, around the time children born in 1982 were entering preschool, and the media were first identifying their prospective link to the impending new millennium as the high school graduating class of 2000, and wrote their book: “Millennials Rising: The Next Great Generation (2000).” Millennials are the second youngest generation currently living in the United States today, and the youngest working generation.

Much more than past generation, Millennials have different requirements when making housing decisions, and are often enticed by different characteristics and new amenities and services offered by housing providers. Expect a prospective Millennial renter to do their research and ask a lot of questions, but in the end, they will likely be renting for a much longer time than previous generations.

Be Pet Friendly

About 73% of Millennials have a pet and it will affect their renting decisions. If you want to maximize your potential renter pool, make your property a pet friendly community. This could result in $100.0 more per month in rental income. It has become more and more common to allow pets due to the demand of pet friendly housing. It can set you apart from your competition. If someone filters their housing search to properties that allow pets, your property just might be one of the few options meeting their criteria.

Pet amenities such as a dog run or pet wash, dog walking services incorporated into your community with applications like Rover or Wag and other move-in pet perks that could be considered a building amenity if close by will make your property standout. Millennials just love convenience and their pets.

Consider Upgrading Existing Amenities

Millennials are extremely practical and; therefore, must be able to communicate quickly. One of the things you will need in order to be a successful property is high speed internet access and user-friendly Property Management Software with the ability to pay rent online and make maintenance requests that can be tracked.

For when you cannot provide in-unit laundry facilities, then consider upgrading laundry room machines with a mobile application that allows an electronic payment option via a mobile phone like PayRange. In addition to paying, users can choose their cycle on the machine. The application notifies the user when the machine is almost done and can tell users how many machines are in use saving a needless trip to the laundry room and back! No more quarters or watching money get eaten by a faulty machine, PayRange reimburses users for any monetary loss. But do not worry, even if PayRange enabled, the machine will still accept coins.

Look at Amenities for the Lobby and Common Areas

Consider offering a complimentary coffee bar and free WiFi in the lobby or a common area of your property. One Keurig Machine goes a long way or consider partnering with local coffee stores to offer locally sourced coffee. Adding free Wi-Fi to common areas can offer many benefits from adding smart technology to the communal areas, to allowing tenants who work from home or work in your common areas. Or, they can just hang out scrolling through the news while drinking a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Organize a schedule of fitness classes for tenants with events like Yoga Tuesdays, Pilates Wednesdays, Boxing Thursdays. In doing so, hire an instructor with a couple days a week available to offer classes for tenants.

Upgrade the mail room to parcel service for the convivence of tenants and couriers such as Parcel Pending, Luxer, 24/7, PackCity, etc. Package theft is a huge issue in the Greater Los Angeles Area, in even the nicest neighborhoods. A parcel service ensures your residents have a safe alternative for package receipt.

The New Amenities

Co-working spaces can benefit the many Millennials working from home, giving them that “second living room” where they have access to WiFi to work efficiently and also get “out of the house” without leaving the building. These spaces can also be utilized as event spaces for tenant mixers.

With state-of-the-art technology, fitness centers that offer exercise machines with smart features that can connect mobile phones to the exercise machine’s touch screen and can take residents on a run through the forest when living in the middle of the city. This can enhance other fitness equipment offerings like free weights or punching bags.

People love views, and Millennials love them even more. A rooftop lounge can be an incredible amenity at your property. Having that picture-perfect view often leads to tenants entertaining guests by showing off the rooftop deck and posting pictures on social media (which can become great word-of-mouth advertising). This can be done simply by creating seating areas, a community barbeque, firepits, yoga deck, and so much more. Overall it is a great amenity to have and a perfect location for tenant events.

Keep in mind that Millennials want their apartment homes to be like an all-inclusive cruise and they want to be able to do a bulk of their activities in one great place.

Smart Technology

Smart technology can turn devices on and off remotely from anywhere through an Internet connection, set automation rules for intelligent home behavior that adapts to your own lifestyle and usage habits, and monitor power consumption in real time without that device being “smart tech.” So-called dumb devices, such as lamps and fans, that aren’t wired to an electrical switch, can be controlled through smart technology. Even home security is becoming more personalized and easily installed – a home security system in each apartment is one way to make Millennials feel more secure and safe when at home. Even traditional appliances have been integrated with smart technology, such as the refrigerator that offers a viewing application to tell users what they need to buy at the grocery store when they have forgotten their grocery list.

Look to a Better Tomorrow

Energy efficiency is attractive to Millennials who brand themselves as eco-friendly. Options that can appeal to these environmentally sensitive Millennials include Motion sensing lights, recycling program
energy efficient appliances, low flow toilets, water saving devices, and electric vehicle charging stations.

Online tenant portal that can process rent payments and maintenance requests, among other things, are here and critical. Approximately 58% of Millennials have never written a check and most likely do not know how to write a check!

Millennials were raised during a time when everyone is treated as special and participation awards are more common than first place awards. Giving any potential Millennial renter the option of adding an electric fireplace, pick an accent color for the wall, paint a chalk wall or even write Welcome Home with the renter’s name is highly regarded.

Create a Community – It’s the Little Things That Count!

Apartment complexes are embracing the multifamily culture by bringing tenants together by hosting events or passing out and event calendars for the upcoming month. My management company hosts tenant events often by offering art events, wine tasting, live music, holiday parties, etc.

When a tenant moves in, consider giving him or her a tote bag filled with move-in essentials such as a plunger, toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, spray bottle, mug, even include some information about the building and neighborhood. And, if you want to try something that incorporates smart technology, give your tenant an electronic keychain that corresponds with an application on a smartphone to locate keys through a global positioning satellite (GPS) tracker or sound an alarm.

If you are a property owner looking for ideas to attract more residents to rent at your building for the highest possible rent, then it is a good idea to know what Millennials want when renting an apartment. As the workforce is witnessing the entry of more and more Millennials, it has become imperative to market your property to this market. But, since you have been prepping your apartments for the older generations, attracting Millennials will require some change. We are not trying to become hotels but perhaps using some things from the hospitality industry will satisfy some of these emerging trends.

About the Author: Kari Negri

Kari Negri is the Chief Executive Officer of Sky Property Management and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. For questions, you can reach Kari at Kari@SKYprop.LA.