Apartment leasing is a competitive game, and multifamily owners are always looking for an edge. Among owners and operators there’s a constant push to differentiate and elevate to keep up with similar properties in the area — and as a result, many get caught up in an amenities arms race, adding more and more bells and whistles in the hopes of creating enough stickiness to raise rents and reduce vacancies.
But this is not only driven by apartment owners. In many cases, certain amenities have come to be seen as “table stakes” by prospective residents, who increasingly expect more from their buildings. In some higher-end apartments there is an expectation of some of the services and perks that were formerly associated only with hospitality brands.
But what are the amenities that renters actually care about — and which are just “nice-to-haves?” In a market defined by tighter margins, slower lease-ups, and heightened renter expectations, owners want to invest in those that go beyond novelty and marketing sizzle — and ideally can be translated into measurable financial performance.
To find out which amenities really move the needle, Insights By Blueprint conducted a survey of the multifamily owners and operators on our Advisory Council. We found that core in-unit features remain the baseline expectation for renters, while location-specific and demographic-driven amenities can determine differentiation, retention, and rent-growth potential. The survey reveals a consistent shift away from “amenities for amenities’ sake” toward ROI-driven, pilot-tested, and operationally scalable investments. And the amenities that deliver real NOI impact tend to fall into three categories: convenience, connectivity, and control.
Most Popular Amenities
Across markets, respondents consistently identified “Core In-Unit & Essential Living Features” as the most important baseline amenities for attracting prospects. These include:
- Air conditioning
- In-unit washer & dryer
- High-speed or bulk internet
- Modern appliances
These features are no longer differentiators but “table stakes”: their absence is a leasing liability rather than their presence being a competitive advantage, says Donald Davidoff, a longtime operator and now the CEO & Co-Founder of Real Estate Business Analytics (RETA).
“If you don’t have what the market expects, you won’t get the lease—but adding something new and sexy doesn’t necessarily move the needle,” Davidoff continued. “If you’re an A-class property and you don’t have in-unit washer/dryers, you’re not really A-class. But having them doesn’t mean you can charge more — it just means you qualify.”
For properties competing within the same class, failing to meet baseline expectations can hurt leasing velocity — but Davidoff also believes that adding new or trendy amenities rarely justifies higher rents or materially improves retention. He points to past cycles of overbuilding amenity spaces, such as movie theaters, that later sat unused or required costly repurposing.
Beyond the unit itself, “Lifestyle & Convenience Amenities” also ranked highly among respondents, particularly:
- Pet-friendly features
- On-site or dedicated parking
- Package delivery solutions
- Smart home technology
However, respondents repeatedly cautioned that popularity varies significantly by market, climate, asset age, and renter demographic, with no universal ranking applicable across all portfolios.
How Owners Decide Which Amenities to Introduce
According to survey respondents, decision-making around new amenities is highly data-driven and iterative. Most operators said they rely on a combination of:
- Comparable asset analysis and market surveys
- Resident and leasing team feedback
- Internal customer experience and operations teams
- ROI modeling and operational impact assessments
Several operators explicitly noted that piloting is complex and resource-intensive, requiring careful consideration of market fit, demographics, and long-term scalability. There is broad consensus that amenities must justify not only capital expense, but also ongoing maintenance, staffing, and operational friction.
For build-to-rent portfolios specifically, respondents emphasized prioritizing amenities that:
- Reinforce privacy and “home-like” living
- Scale across neighborhoods rather than single buildings
- Reduce maintenance burden and improve self-service
Davidoff argues that the multifamily industry consistently overvalues amenities, particularly those that are visually impressive or “sexy,” while misunderstanding what actually drives renter behavior. In his view, amenities primarily influence initial leasing decisions, not long-term retention. Retention, he suggests, is driven far more by life stage and mobility than by property features. While retention rates have increased modestly over the past decade, the average renter still stays only two to three years — largely because younger renters change jobs, cities, and circumstances more frequently.
When it comes to unit-level investments, Davidoff is clear: kitchens, bathrooms, and entryways deliver the highest return. He cautions against expensive finishes that do not materially change renter perception, such as granite countertops or premium flooring, when lower-cost alternatives can achieve the same visual impact. Instead, he highlights modest, cost-effective design choices — like curved shower rods or upgraded kitchen backsplashes — that meaningfully improve the lived experience at minimal expense.
Pilot Processes and Evaluation Criteria
Most respondents described a controlled pilot approach to introducing amenities, typically involving:
- Deployment in one or two communities
- A defined evaluation window (often 30–90 days)
- Clear success metrics such as leasing velocity, usage rates, resident satisfaction, and maintenance impact
- Feedback loops from onsite teams and residents
With a data-driven approach like this, respondents say that amenities that fail to demonstrate measurable value are adjusted or discontinued quickly, reflecting a growing intolerance for low-ROI or operationally burdensome features.
Davidoff, in contrast, believes most amenity decisions in the industry are still largely driven by intuition: “Virtually everyone is making amenity decisions based on gut feel, not data,” he says.
Where real pricing data does exist, he suggests that it consistently points back to fundamentals: entry experience, kitchens, bathrooms, and location. In markets with constrained supply, strong locations and solid core product matter far more than having the “coolest” features.
“Everybody wants to be proud of their sexy stuff,” he says. “But that doesn’t mean people actually pay more for it.”
The Best Amenities for Resident Retention & Rent Increases
When it comes to renewals, friction-reducing features like appliances and garages rather than aspirational amenities were cited most often by our Advisory Council. Key themes include:
- Strong maintenance and service teams are viewed as an “amenity” in their own right
- Safety, security, and enforcement of community standards
- Reliable core features such as fast internet and climate control
These kinds of amenities are deeply embedded in residents’ daily routines, making them far less willing to give them up at renewal — and they increase the stickiness of the current place they are living.
Respondents were notably cautious about overstating the rent impact of amenities. Several operators observed that traditional value-add amenities no longer command the premiums they once did. The clear exceptions to this are:
- Bulk or managed WiFi was repeatedly cited as one of the few amenities that consistently supports rent increases.
- Unit-level upgrades (new appliances, finishes) outperform most shared amenities in rent impact.
- In build-to-rent, fenced private yards, garages, and dedicated parking strongly support rent premiums due to their scarcity and everyday utility.
Shared community amenities — such as fitness centers, pools, and outdoor spaces — can support rents when well designed, but their impact is harder to isolate and quantify, especially in mature or competitive markets
Emerging and Value-Added Amenities
According to respondents, adoption of emerging amenities remains uneven, but some are gaining traction:
- EV charging stations are increasingly important in certain markets
- Sustainability features and energy-efficient appliances are becoming expected rather than premium
- Enhanced security systems continue to matter, especially where safety concerns are pronounced
Respondents emphasized that these features must be introduced selectively, based on market readiness and demonstrated demand, rather than broad assumptions.
Davidoff makes a distinction between operational tech (like smart thermostats) which can save owners meaningfully on energy bills during vacancies, for example, and other kinds of community tech bells and whistles.
“Most tech doesn’t let you charge more rent—especially in suburban B-class properties,” says Davidoff. “Some technology makes sense not because residents pay more, but because owners save money operationally.”
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The survey makes clear that core in-unit features are non-negotiable — their absence hurts leasing more than their presence helps. There is no universal amenity playbook; market, asset, and demographic context is decisive. Bulk WiFi and unit upgrades are among the most reliable drivers of rent growth. Meanwhile, retention is driven by daily convenience and service quality, not novelty amenities.
Davidoff also says amenity value is highly cyclical. During strong economic periods, renters may pay premiums for features like balconies — but those premiums evaporate quickly during downturns, when price sensitivity increases and lower-cost units lease first.
“In good times, you can get a premium for amenities,” he says. “The minute the economy changes, that calculus changes. During a downturn, the cheaper units rent first — every time.”
And at the end of the day, no matter the amenities, he says the three most important things in real estate still apply: location, location and location.
“Location still beats everything,” says Davidoff. “You don’t lose residents to a worse location just because it has a cooler piece of tech.”
-David Hirschman
