Results from an informal online survey of Chicago-based Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM) members foretells the top three tenant demands by property type. Survey findings were released May 12 and collectively include timely and effective communication from property management, heating and air-conditioning, rent relief, privacy noise concerns, and safety and security updates.
Multifamily
The IREM survey uncovered the top three demands of tenants in conventionally financed apartments as follows:Timely and effective communication from the property manager or property management firm (45.8 percent); privacy/noise concerns (52.9 percent); rent relief (41.4 percent).
Commercial
HVAC-related demands topped out as the No. 1 concern for commercial office tenants at 78.2 percent. Communication from property management that is both timely and effective ranked as their second concern (54 percent), and lastly, respondents reported access to high-speed Internet or fiber optics as important (31.5 percent).
For retail tenants in shopping centers, HVAC was also a paramount concern (52.7 percent), followed by rent relief (49.1 percent), and effective communication with property management (43.6 percent).
Not surprisingly, tenants in industrial buildings also cited heating and air-conditioning as their most pressing demand (59.4 percent). Rent relief (56.3 percent) and effective communication from property management followed (53.1 percent).
There were 482 respondents to the IREM survey, resulting in a 95-percent confidence level in the data with a 4.4-percent sampling error. To find out more about these results, or the Institute of Real Estate Management, visit (www.irem.org).
