When looking for a place to rent, prospective tenants consider various factors from the cost of rent to location - but another top factor is amenities.

Sacramento

Many new apartment complexes are offering a range of luxury amenities, from expansive patios and in-unit washers and dryers to community features like fitness centers, salons, and even bowling alleys. According to real estate experts, these amenities can add several hundred dollars to the monthly rent, regardless of whether tenants use them. For example, features such as EV charging stations and fitness centers can increase rent by $245 and $115 per month, respectively.

Experts recommend that renters evaluate whether they will actually use these amenities before paying the premium, and suggest crunching the numbers to compare with less expensive apartments that offer fewer add-ons. In some cases, landlords may offer credits for local gyms if the building lacks a fitness center, providing alternative options for tenants seeking value.

Apartment amenities add hundreds to rent. Are they worth it?

When looking for a place renters look at a variety of factors from the cost of rent to the location. The other big factor, the amenities. But are the amenities worth the extra cost in rent? We checked in with experts to find out. Driving around San Diego County, you will see a number of apartment complexes that are being built. Many are luxury apartments that showcase high-end amenities like the Garden Communities of California, which has a property in La Jolla. Its website lists a number of apartment amenities such as expansive patios, a full-size washer and dryer, and assigned parking. The website also lists community amenities, which includes a hair salon, tanning salon, outdoor yoga studio, and a bowling alley on the property. I think over the years, decades, I've kind of witnessed an evolution in amenities. Timothy Wright, the director of the Corky MacMillan Center for Real Estate at San Diego State, says many apartment complexes showcase amenities to generate interest. They're great for leasing, great for tourists. They kind of fall in love with it. They envision themselves using these amenities more than they are, but you know, it's kind of the 80-20 rule. I think 20% of the tenants are really using the space 80% of the time. And amenities, on average, adds a couple hundred dollars a month to the cost of rent. For example, a property that has EV charging stations typically adds $245 a month to rent, regardless if you have an electric vehicle. Or a fitness center will cost you an additional $115 a month, even if you don't use a gym. They drive up the cost of development, right, because they've got to rebuild the space that's being done. And secondly, it's got to have security associated with it. There's operating costs with it. According to Apartments.com, in California, the average rent for a one-bedroom is $2,205 a month. Timothy says because of the cost, renters should crunch numbers to see if an apartment with certain amenities is the way to go, instead of a cheaper apartment without as many add-ons. I think that math is real on new projects, where there's good fitness center, high-end equipment, it's good stuff. There's some fitness centers on kind of older, vintage projects that are more or less an afterthought. There's small rooms with a bunch of mirrors in them and some old equipment, and you cannot compare or trade that against what is kind of modern-day, whatever you use, a 24-hour fitness. And if you can't afford an apartment with all the amenities, Timothy says it's worth checking with the landlord to see if they offer any deals with neighboring businesses. I've seen projects that have small or no fitness centers offer tenants a credit for a club. Say, listen, we don't have a fitness center, but there's a Gold's Gym down the street. Here's $100 a month to use there. So I think that's a real trade-off today. Marie Cornell, ABC 10 News.

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