Parks Associates study finds half of apartment residents worried about community safety

DALLAS — A new study from Parks Associates, titled "Smart, Safe, and Secure Apartment Living," reveals approximately half of apartment residents report that they are worried about community safety and show interest in smart amenities when searching for a new home.

The research, studying 8,0000 U.S. internet households, is focused on renter demand for smart, safe, and secure living solutions and the impact of investments into resident-facing apps and app functions, property access control, security cameras and smart security solutions, and smart door locks for residential units.

"Net promoter scores (NPS) are a measure of customer satisfaction and willingness to recommend a product or service. Negative NPS indicates that more customers are unhappy than happy. Apartment renters, on the whole, give their communities an NPS of -25," said Kristen Hanich, research director, Parks Associates, and author of the study.

"There is much that apartment owners and operators can do to boost resident satisfaction, including improving their amenities and community safety," Hanich said. "Good insulation and soundproofing remain the gold standard in terms of what prospective residents are looking for in their next home; however, the next three top amenities all relate to security, including both property security and in-unit security."

Study highlights include:

• 13% of apartment residents live in an apartment with an in-unit smart amenity package.
• Property-provided smart home and security packages represent an estimated $8.5 billion market in the multifamily market.
• Apartment renters are generally dissatisfied with their units and complexes, with an NPS of -25 for apartments, while condo owners report an NPS of 12.
• Nearly half of renters are interested in receiving smart home and security features from their landlord or a future HOA.

"Properties are investing in new technologies to add and improve security measures," Hanich said. "AI security cameras, access control solutions with mobile credentialing, and video intercoms at gates all improve resident safety and convenience. Smart property and smart security solutions stand to substantially boost property NOI. Targeted deployments to the demographics most interested in tech will offer the highest returns."

Parks Associates will share more on this topic at the third annual Smart Spaces: Apartments, Hospitality, and Community Living, taking place Sept. 16-17 at the HALL Arts Hotel in Dallas. Research from the latest study will be featured during the event, with a special focus on connectivity and amenity services.