Before the pandemic, some apartment residents were coming around to short-term rentals.
Younger renters surveyed in the report were much more open to having short-term rentals in their apartment community, according to the 2020 Apartment Resident Preferences Report from the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and Kingsley Associates. Overall, almost 60% of respondents said having short-term rentals would either positively impact their perception of a property or have no effect at all. In comparison, 16% wouldn’t rent at a complex that allowed short-term rentals.
But since then, a lot has happened. The number of renters who considered living in short-term rentals or on short-term leases has only grown through the pandemic.
In November 2020, Apartment List found that among people looking to move within the metro where they currently live, 10.7% are looking for a short-term lease. In January 2020, only 7.9% of these people were seeking a short-term lease.
The percentage of people looking for a short-term rental increased when looking at people moving to new cities. As of November, the number of renters moving to a new metro and looking to sign a lease of six months or less increased 40% from January 2020 to 16.4%, according to Apartment List.
This interest in short-term leases may result from uncertainty over the timing of a return to the office. While many companies will undoubtedly adopt long-term, telework-friendly policies, many others will call workers back after widespread vaccinations. By signing leases that don’t last as long, workers retain the flexibility to go back to work when mandated.
