What Renters Want: More Pickleball Courts and Fewer Fitness Centers

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The NMHC-Grace Hill survey also found renters are generally happy with their living situations.

Renters are willing to pay more for things such as pickleball and rentable workstations and have cooled on fitness center use and fitness class offerings, according to results from the 2024 Renter Preferences Survey Report released last week by NMHC and Grace Hill.

 It was presented at the National Multifamily Housing Council’s OpTech conference in Las Vegas.

The report provides a comprehensive look at the home features and community amenities that are most important to renters, based on input from 172,703 renters living in 4,220 communities nationwide, with data available in 77 markets.

Interest in fitness centers declined this year, falling from 51% to 36% among respondents.

People are going for quantity over quality when it comes to machines, and they are not as keen on fitness classes, according to a panel of operators Jamie Gorski, GID/ Windsor Communities; Laurel Zacher, Security Properties Residential; and Tim Hermeling, Cortland; with moderator Kendall Pretzer, CEO, Grace Hill.

A majority of respondents reported working remotely signifies that “work from home” is more than just a fleeting trend.

The largest group (39%) reported they worked from home several days a week, followed by those who worked from home every day (31%), a few times a month (21%) and once a month or less (9%), according to a release.

The report finds that, by and large, renters enjoy living in their rental communities and feel valued by their housing providers, according to a release.

Most respondents reported that they agree or strongly agree (85%) with this statement: I enjoy living in my community.

The three key factors contributing most to a renter’s positive sense of community were neighbors respecting the rules; feeling welcomed by the community staff; and access to services that can enhance residents’ well-being.

“These findings present an opportunity for policymakers to better appreciate that the vast majority of renters have a high level of satisfaction with their housing situation,” NMHC President Sharon Wilson Géno said in a prepared statement.

“This information also illuminates the needs, both desired and necessary, of residents and the realities that housing providers face in providing homes that are the foundations for renters to build their lives.”

Source: GlobeSt.