--- title: Forget Pools and Gyms. Today's Renters Demand Neighbor Happy Hours and Pet Turfs description: Forget gyms and pools. Today's budget-conscious renters want their apartments ot have neighbor happy hours and pet turfs, per a new report. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter at Money who frequently covers news stories about housing topics including home buying, mortgage rates and homeowners insurance. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 597 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2024-09-24T16:07:46.000Z' modified: '2024-09-24T16:08:37.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 476 canonical: https://money.com/renter-apartment-amenities-2024/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo collage of two hands holding cocktail drinks, with an apartment complex in the background](https://img.money.com/2024/09/News-Renters-Look-For-Perks.jpg) The list of amenities that renters value most has some surprises: Rental buildings that feature gyms or pools actually tend to underperform, while social-living perks like happy hours and co-working spaces are apparently in vogue. Gyms and pools, which have long been considered two of the most-desired amenities in a luxury building, are losing their appeal with today’s renters, according to a [recent report](https://zillow.mediaroom.com/2024-09-19-Move-over,-gyms-and-pools-Renters-want-pet-areas-and-happy-hour) from home search site Zillow that considered data from about 5.6 million listings. Zillow says the number of "saves" on a listing is a proxy for demand and can suggest that an apartment will rent faster. Its findings? Listings that boast building happy hours draw a 50% increase in saves, and ones that mention turf pet areas get 76% more saves than other units. Meanwhile, listings mentioning fitness centers are saved 26% less often than comparable units, and there's a 10% drop-off for listings with pools. ## Still renting? Protect your belongings against damages. ### With quality Renters Insurance from Lemonade, you can protect your home and everything inside it. For more information, click on your state. [Get a Free Quote](https://money.com/pr/c2ebf4071b2e?ap_referrer=%2Frenter-apartment-amenities-2024%2F) “Renters are rethinking what they want and need in a home, looking beyond buildings with traditional rental amenities in favor of those with features and services that better suit their lifestyle and budget,” according to the report. Nationally, rents are up 3.4% year over year and are 33.6% higher than before the pandemic, Zillow [reports](https://www.zillow.com/research/august-2024-rent-report-34353/). Given these steep increases, some renters are re-evaluating their housing budgets and priorities. Amenities like pools and gyms tend to come at a cost. A 2019 report from [Hotpads.com](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pool-envy-renters-pay-70-more-for-a-pool-300904817.html) found that the typical premium renters pay for apartments with pools was $70 and $62 for gyms. It's unclear if these amenities themselves have fallen out of favor with renters or if the issue is simply the higher price tags for units with these upscale amenities. Semi-regular happy hours and pet-friendly spaces, on the other hand, appear to add a lot of value for renters and likely have a much lower cost for the building. “\[Renters\] are prioritizing practical amenities while also seeking community-focused perks like co-working spaces and social events,” Emily McDonald, rental trends expert at Zillow, said in the report. “These features offer a balance of convenience and lifestyle enhancement.” Some other popular amenities are more stylistic. Most notably, "modern farmhouse features," including butcher-block countertops and barn doors, are among the top apartment features desired by renters. ## Top 10 rental amenities on Zillow Here are the 10 most popular amenities in 2024 based on how frequently listings are saved on the home search site: 1. **Off-street parking**: 85% saves per day increase 2. **In-unit laundry**: 76% increase 3. **Turf (pet area)**: 76% increase 4. **Air filtration**: 72% increase 5. **Finished basement**: 72% increase 6. **Butcher block (countertops)**: 58% increase 7. **Barn door**: 56% increase 8. **Reserved parking**: 52% increase 9. **Modern farmhouse**: 51% increase 10. **Happy hour**: 50% increase ## As a home renter, there are insurance policies available for you ### To protect yourself and your property against unexpected damages, Lemonade Renters Insurance is the way to go. Interested in a free quote? Click below today. [Get a Free Quote](https://money.com/pr/u848a9be6ece?ap_referrer=%2Frenter-apartment-amenities-2024%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/renter-apartment-amenities-2024/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Renters", "item": "https://money.com/renters/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Forget Pools and Gyms. 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