The Power Of Innovative Architecture.

It all began in 2020 when I was developing a new Multifamily Division in my previous role with Sciame (NY/FL Builder-Developer), looking for a way to differentiate our new rental apartment communities. I was searching for problems to solve among residents when I came across the residents’ complaints about Class A rental apartment floor plans. It was clear that the existing floor plan designs had become outdated. Although they met basic needs, residents overall lacked an exciting living experience.

This is why I developed a brand new set of floor plans meticulously crafted with an uncompromising commitment to quality to help provide an enhanced living experience. As an international architectural designer, I took inspiration from my experience designing and building multifamily, single-family, hospitality, office, and workplace projects in Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S.

Architecture has the power to shape our lives, and this can be an especially powerful tool when it comes to floor plans for rental apartments. By understanding users’ needs and designing purposeful spaces, I strive to bring meaningful living experiences to residents, fostering functionality beyond the standard and offering refined elegance, comfort, and serenity at their core.

It is my goal to provide a meaningful living experience that reflects residents’ interests, creating lasting relationships within the community. This is how I believe rental apartments should be – unique, inviting, and inspiring.

Carpe diem,

CARMELO GENCARELLI

What Problems Am I Trying To Solve?

It is not easy to believe that the Multifamily Industry has offered “similar interior architecture” during the past decades, but it has happened! The residents have many needs, desires, and complaints about apartment floor plans. Their online reviews clearly show their frustrations and unhappiness.

What Is The Cause Of These Problems?

Most architects are doing a good job designing apartment buildings exteriors and amenities. Unfortunately, they are not doing the same with apartment floor plans. When you design without understanding the residents’ needs and complaints, you base your design on unvalidated assumptions about what is genuinely required. Having a wrong understanding of the problems results in a poorly defined scope and an incomplete and incorrect set of requirements…two things critical to successful design—the result is a product that does not meet the customers’ wants and needs.

What Can We Do To Solve These Problems?

Human-Experience Design will help us get back to the people and the spaces we’ve missed most as we enter a reimagined, hybrid world together. To meet new expectations, we must push the boundaries of Architecture, Interior Design, and Technology. These three elements play a unique and profound role in a time of transformation.

Why Must We Solve These Problems?

Because residents no longer base their Loyalty on Price or Product. Instead, they stay loyal to companies due to the Experience they receive. Getting to know them—really know them, including their complaints, frustrations, and desires—will drive brand loyalty and sustain long-term relationships. If not, you’ll give your competitors the best gift you can, your residents!

TOP 10 RESIDENTS COMPLAINTS

Residents’ complaints about Class A urban and suburban apartments are:

1. All new apartment buildings offer the same floor plans.
2. The apartment feels too small and looks outdated.
3. The kitchen area takes 50% or more of the living space.
4. No room for a table! Very hard to eat on the kitchen island.
5. No sitting areas to enjoy meals with family and friends.
6. Lack of storage and closet space.
7. No water closet in the main bathroom.
8. No room for exercise and no office space either.
9. No large windows, balconies, or private yards.
10. Poor apartment views.

SOURCES: Google Reviews, Apartments.com, Apartmentratings.com, Apartmentguide.com, and Rent.com

REPORT: An overview of the national rental market and shifting consumer preferences by RCLCO (2023 Rental Consumer Preference Report —>) strengthened my facts about Apartment Design and Materials being the most critical features for renters aside from location, expressing their desire to pay more to have a floor plan that covers their wants, needs, and it is built using modern materials. I highly recommend this report to anyone trying to understand the current rental market and how it has been impacted by the pandemic. 

UNIQUENESS = NOI INCREASE

A recent report from REALPAGE shows that apartment rent prices approach negative territory. Apartment rentals have been cooling off sharply for several months now. They were still slightly higher year-over-year in August, but that may be the last of it; take a look: Rents are up just 0.28%, according to REALPAGE. Compare that to a year ago when rents were posting 11% annual growth, and with the exception of a very brief drop during the Covid lockdown, rents haven’t gone negative in well over a decade.

When they did, it was due to the recession hitting demand; that is not the case now. Apartment occupancies nationally are at a 94%, which is right along the historical norms, and that’s the case with high mortgage rates, combined with home prices, keeping people in the rental market now.

Turnover Increase

The issue is a massive amount supply of new units this year at a 50-year high, with over 400,000 units coming on just this year alone. We have talked about this a lot, over 1 million new units in the past three years—which is a record—and much of that supplies on the higher end. Renters have more options, so landlords have less pricing power as turnover increases.

Biggest Rent Cuts

Rents nationally haven’t gone negative yet, but they have several local markets seeing the most significant drops:

Looking Ahead

Supply should remain high through next year, but new construction has dropped off this year due to financing and other challenges, which may or may not level things out.

Source: CNBC