With no sign of a full-time return to the office in the near future, many employees are contemplating a permanent space in their homes for remote working. The need for a designated area inevitably involves space, something that many apartments run short on. In response to this demand, developers of apartments in the US are building bigger properties. And across the country.
Larger apartments in 36% of cities
According to a recent study by Yardi Matrix, apartment footprints are generally growing across the US. The survey found that new apartments were bigger in 36% of the 92 cities included in the research. On average, they had an extra 50 square feet.
When it comes to 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, the percentage is even higher. Almost 50% of the cities are currently seeing larger new-build properties. 3-bedroom apartments in the US have gained the most new space – new builds now boast an additional 105 square feet.
The increase is also generous in 1 and 2-bedroom apartments. Single bedroom properties now have an extra 28 square feet and 2-bedroom, 39 square feet more.
New trends set demand
Covid-19 has heightened our awareness of our homes and made us take a long look at where we live. The desire for more space was already on architects’ agenda before the pandemic broke out and recent lockdowns have accelerated this desire.
Extra space in rental apartments in the US is now a top demand among tenants. The additional square footage offers them two benefits: it can be used as a dedicated space for remote working, or it can be offered to other tenants allowing them to share rental costs.
Small cities with larger apartments in the US
Many of the cities in the US currently building larger apartments are small. Everett in Washington state has some of the most spacious new builds. In the last five years, apartments have increased in the city by an average of 267 square feet. In second place is Kirkland, also in Washington, where apartment footprints have gone up by 211 square feet.
Demand for larger homes lies behind the increase in apartment size in smaller cities. According to MBK Rental Living, it all comes down to ‘residential recalibration’. Tenants are moving away from urban areas and city centres to outlying districts where properties tend to be larger and offer communal amenities such as a pool and gardens.
Larger apartments in Florida
In the Sunshine State, four cities clearly show the trend for larger living spaces. Tenants of new-build apartments in Sarasota, Orlando, Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach can look forward to more room.
In Orlando, apartments are set to increase to an average of 981 square feet as demand rises. Analysts point to the metro area’s appeal to digital nomads. In addition, the average age of tenants in Orlando is 37, five years younger than Florida as a whole.
The largest new apartments of all are under construction in Sarasota. In this metro area, tenants can expect to rent a new build with an average size of 1,007 square feet. This is the sixth-largest among the 92 cities in the survey.
Find out more about buy-to-let apartments in Florida.
(Source: RENTCafé)
