Sunday, July 3, 2011 03:16 AM
By Jim Weiker
 |
| Fred Squillante | DISPATCH PHOTOS |
A lousy housing market has driven hundreds of affluent central Ohioans to apartment complexes.
Now, can community gardens, sports bars, granite countertops and trips to Ikea keep them there?
New high-end complexes from Groveport to Hilliard are offering a bevy of amenities to attract and retain tenants, many of whom are paying more in rent than they might on a mortgage."The same people who rent today might have bought three years ago," said Sam Stark, the sales manager with Lifestyle Communities, whose newest apartment complex - the Paddock at Hayden Run - boasts a 7,000-square-foot sports bar called the Goat.
"There's still fear in the housing market. People want to be mobile, and they're willing to pay a premium for living in an apartment."
Adding to the appeal, the Paddock offers a beach volleyball court, a staffed workout facility, hardwood floors, stainless-steel appliances and 9-foot ceilings.
Down Hayden Run Road, the new Hilliard Grand complex provides a dog park, a community garden, a car wash, 9-foot ceilings, Wi-Fi, a fire-pit terrace and washer-dryer hookups.
Those perks and others are in addition to once-luxurious features now considered a must in high-end rentals: fitness centers, movie rooms, clubhouses, pools, business centers and open floor plans.
To those in the industry, such amenities are more than just brochure fodder: They are tools in what could be a watershed moment in modern housing.
The U.S. homeownership rate has dropped to 66.4 percent of households, its lowest level in 13 years and down from a peak of 69.2 percent in 2004. Although many of America's new renters might be eager to hop back into a home when their finances allow, others are choosing to pay rent instead of a mortgage.
"In the past five or six years, we could have bought a home," said Sri Thokala, 36, who moved into Hilliard Grand in June with his wife, Preeti Kawatra, 30. "But especially looking the last two years at the housing market, and the uncertainty of the job market, I don't want to take that plunge."
The couple was drawn to Hilliard Grand by its proximity to Thokala's software engineering job in Dublin, and by the gym, clubhouse and new appliances. They pay $1,005 a month for a two-bedroom flat.
John Scruggs, a 21-year-old model who recently moved into the Paddock at Hayden Run, doesn't plan to buy a home for "five or six years."
Scruggs' $975-a-month rent could cover a mortgage, but instead of buying, he is considering upgrading to the three-floor town house plan for $1,275 a month.
"It's like living in a condo here. You've got a gym, a bar, a full restaurant and the pool," he said. "It's very classy; there's a lot of young professionals here."
Anthony Verrilli and Noelle Carusillo were drawn to the Paddock by the pool, the workout facilities and their apartment's washer and dryer.
"Not having to have gym or pool memberships, that was huge for us," said Verrilli, whose rent is $800 a month for a one-bedroom unit.
Rent at seven new central Ohio complexes to open in the past 12 months starts in the $700 range and tops out from $1,200 to $1,400 (although some units in Flats on Vine in the Arena District cost more than $1,800) - enough at today's interest rates to buy a $200,000 home.
Stark notes that some Paddock tenants are paying $200 to $300 more to rent a unit than it would cost to buy an almost identical condo in the same complex. Other builders could say the same.
"Tenants now realize they can't sell quickly and move on," said Debbie Rurik-Goodwin, president of the management arm of Edwards Communities, which opened Arlington Park apartments in Hilliard this year. "They're renters by choice, and I think that will continue to be the case for a long time."
Renters also seem to be unpacking their bags for longer stretches.
"I talk to a lot of people in the industry and ask them all this question and, almost uniformly, they tell me retention rates are up 10 to 15percent from the housing collapse," said Greg Willett, vice president of research and analysis at MPF Research, an apartment consulting firm in Texas.
DRK & Co., which has opened three central Ohio complexes in the past year (Prescott Place in Worthington, Albany Landings in New Albany and Winchester Park in Groveport) is finding that tenants stay longer than they did before the housing crash, said company President Tre Geller.
To draw tenants and encourage them to stay, DRK focused on features in its new communities.
"We made a determination a few years ago that the amenities the customers are looking for will be a paramount concern," Geller said. "We upgraded our clubhouse and offer the standard amenities like a pool and exercise facility, but we also have pool tables, 10- to 15-seat movie theaters in the clubhouse, kitchenettes in the clubhouse, and we upgraded the pool and patio areas."
The Edwards Communities, which offered an upscale fitness center in its Quarry community in 1999 and built the Barn restaurant and bar in 2004, pioneered many high-end apartment amenities in central Ohio.
In its new Arlington Park community, the company provides granite countertops, undermount sinks, pendant lighting, side-by-side refrigerators, and, in town house units, screened porches.
The perks seem to have worked: The complex, which opened in January, has rented all but 30 of its 284 units, the fastest lease-up that Rurik-Goodwin has seen in her decade of managing Edwards' apartment communities.
"I think those amenity expectations are only going to grow," she said.
Rurik-Goodwin and others say they are seeing some empty nesters and middle-aged divorced men and women, but renters continue to be dominated by professionals in their 20s and early 30s.
To keep them, complexes are also using tactics beyond physical amenities.
The Paddock and other Lifestyle complexes offer ski clubs and trips to the Cincinnati-area Ikea store.
Hilliard Grand's "purposeful living" is designed to remedy one of renting's main shortcomings: the lack of a sense of community.
"We want to provide opportunities for people ... that will give them more of a purpose than just coming and going, and become attached to others here," said Brett Kaufman, president of the Schottenstein Real Estate Group, which developed the complex.
"Based on what we're seeing in other communities, people who in the past may have seen homeownership as a goal are seeing rental as a long-term option."
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
Now, can community gardens, sports bars, granite countertops and trips to Ikea keep them there?
New high-end complexes from Groveport to Hilliard are offering a bevy of amenities to attract and retain tenants, many of whom are paying more in rent than they might on a mortgage."The same people who rent today might have bought three years ago," said Sam Stark, the sales manager with Lifestyle Communities, whose newest apartment complex - the Paddock at Hayden Run - boasts a 7,000-square-foot sports bar called the Goat.
"There's still fear in the housing market. People want to be mobile, and they're willing to pay a premium for living in an apartment."
Adding to the appeal, the Paddock offers a beach volleyball court, a staffed workout facility, hardwood floors, stainless-steel appliances and 9-foot ceilings.
Down Hayden Run Road, the new Hilliard Grand complex provides a dog park, a community garden, a car wash, 9-foot ceilings, Wi-Fi, a fire-pit terrace and washer-dryer hookups.
Those perks and others are in addition to once-luxurious features now considered a must in high-end rentals: fitness centers, movie rooms, clubhouses, pools, business centers and open floor plans.
To those in the industry, such amenities are more than just brochure fodder: They are tools in what could be a watershed moment in modern housing.
The U.S. homeownership rate has dropped to 66.4 percent of households, its lowest level in 13 years and down from a peak of 69.2 percent in 2004. Although many of America's new renters might be eager to hop back into a home when their finances allow, others are choosing to pay rent instead of a mortgage.
"In the past five or six years, we could have bought a home," said Sri Thokala, 36, who moved into Hilliard Grand in June with his wife, Preeti Kawatra, 30. "But especially looking the last two years at the housing market, and the uncertainty of the job market, I don't want to take that plunge."
The couple was drawn to Hilliard Grand by its proximity to Thokala's software engineering job in Dublin, and by the gym, clubhouse and new appliances. They pay $1,005 a month for a two-bedroom flat.
John Scruggs, a 21-year-old model who recently moved into the Paddock at Hayden Run, doesn't plan to buy a home for "five or six years."
Scruggs' $975-a-month rent could cover a mortgage, but instead of buying, he is considering upgrading to the three-floor town house plan for $1,275 a month.
"It's like living in a condo here. You've got a gym, a bar, a full restaurant and the pool," he said. "It's very classy; there's a lot of young professionals here."
Anthony Verrilli and Noelle Carusillo were drawn to the Paddock by the pool, the workout facilities and their apartment's washer and dryer.
"Not having to have gym or pool memberships, that was huge for us," said Verrilli, whose rent is $800 a month for a one-bedroom unit.
Rent at seven new central Ohio complexes to open in the past 12 months starts in the $700 range and tops out from $1,200 to $1,400 (although some units in Flats on Vine in the Arena District cost more than $1,800) - enough at today's interest rates to buy a $200,000 home.
Stark notes that some Paddock tenants are paying $200 to $300 more to rent a unit than it would cost to buy an almost identical condo in the same complex. Other builders could say the same.
"Tenants now realize they can't sell quickly and move on," said Debbie Rurik-Goodwin, president of the management arm of Edwards Communities, which opened Arlington Park apartments in Hilliard this year. "They're renters by choice, and I think that will continue to be the case for a long time."
Renters also seem to be unpacking their bags for longer stretches.
"I talk to a lot of people in the industry and ask them all this question and, almost uniformly, they tell me retention rates are up 10 to 15percent from the housing collapse," said Greg Willett, vice president of research and analysis at MPF Research, an apartment consulting firm in Texas.
DRK & Co., which has opened three central Ohio complexes in the past year (Prescott Place in Worthington, Albany Landings in New Albany and Winchester Park in Groveport) is finding that tenants stay longer than they did before the housing crash, said company President Tre Geller.
To draw tenants and encourage them to stay, DRK focused on features in its new communities.
"We made a determination a few years ago that the amenities the customers are looking for will be a paramount concern," Geller said. "We upgraded our clubhouse and offer the standard amenities like a pool and exercise facility, but we also have pool tables, 10- to 15-seat movie theaters in the clubhouse, kitchenettes in the clubhouse, and we upgraded the pool and patio areas."
The Edwards Communities, which offered an upscale fitness center in its Quarry community in 1999 and built the Barn restaurant and bar in 2004, pioneered many high-end apartment amenities in central Ohio.
In its new Arlington Park community, the company provides granite countertops, undermount sinks, pendant lighting, side-by-side refrigerators, and, in town house units, screened porches.
The perks seem to have worked: The complex, which opened in January, has rented all but 30 of its 284 units, the fastest lease-up that Rurik-Goodwin has seen in her decade of managing Edwards' apartment communities.
"I think those amenity expectations are only going to grow," she said.
Rurik-Goodwin and others say they are seeing some empty nesters and middle-aged divorced men and women, but renters continue to be dominated by professionals in their 20s and early 30s.
To keep them, complexes are also using tactics beyond physical amenities.
The Paddock and other Lifestyle complexes offer ski clubs and trips to the Cincinnati-area Ikea store.
Hilliard Grand's "purposeful living" is designed to remedy one of renting's main shortcomings: the lack of a sense of community.
"We want to provide opportunities for people ... that will give them more of a purpose than just coming and going, and become attached to others here," said Brett Kaufman, president of the Schottenstein Real Estate Group, which developed the complex.
"Based on what we're seeing in other communities, people who in the past may have seen homeownership as a goal are seeing rental as a long-term option."
Source: The Columbus Dispatch
No comments:
Post a Comment