Access NOT Ownership

In the May edition of the online REIT industry magazine NAREIT, Charles Keenan looks at the shifting expectations among millennial apartment renters. The thesis is that what millennial renters are looking for is access to things without the burden of owning them. The progression of this trend will be expressed in the all builtins apartment where every stick of furniture is fitted to the apartment much like kitchen and bathroom cabinetry are now.

The REITs which get out in front of this trend now will be the ones most rewarded later. The endpoint of this trend in the multifamily apartment space will be reached when moving from one apartment to another is nearly as easy as checking in and out of a hotel. The advantages of this new paradigm are many: The burden of moving will no longer weigh against taking a new job. Vacant apartments can generate revenue as AirBnBs. Renters throw away much of their furniture as it is often cheaper and easier to buy new rather than move old. The new 'green' apartment is the all builtins apartment.

Renters get access to great interior design which gives them an organized and pleasant life. They are no longer forced buy and move heavy furniture and makeshift where they live.