The United States government states that anyone who pays 30% or more of their annual salary as house rent or mortgage is in need of affordable housing assistance from the local and federal governments. This means workers, minimum wage earners, students and fresh graduates along with people who have lost their homes to foreclosure can receive assistance. Multifamily investors need to understand their target audience and what amenities work for them.

Who Needs Affordable Housing?
Senior citizens, veterans, people with disabilities, and minimum wage workers, need assistance with housing. The income earned by these individuals is insufficient to pay the full rent for houses due to the gap between the rent and income earned by these individuals. This gap widens especially in urban areas and hence the requirement for assistance by the government.
 
Factors That Influence the Tenant’s Choices
People need housing; however, potential tenants avoid unsafe neighborhoods. So how to attract tenants and what are the factors that interest potential tenants? Here are some factors that influence how tenants look at multifamily houses:

Safety
First, any age and demographic group looks for safety. Parents want safety for their children, so do working professionals. An affordable multifamily housing complex in a safe neighborhood automatically attracts tenants. Housing contractors can also guide about the safety features that are available and install them in the complex.

Location
No one wants to live away from the downtown area or a location that is far from the nearest transit point. At the same time, the closer you move to downtown, the higher rent you pay. From an investors point of view it is great as higher rent means higher income. This can also translate to longer vacancy period and lesser occupancy rate.

Amenities
There are host of amenities that are offered by multifamily housing complexes. A word of caution though is these amenities have to be in accordance to the targeted audience. If senior citizens are the target, a nearby pharmacy store will be a great bonus as well as a lift. Similarly, if you are targeting working families, offer day care service.

Rent
Rent amount though last in the list, is the most influencing factor while searching a house. All the above mentioned factors will push the rent up, however if the rent is increased too much then attracting tenants will be difficult even with all the right factors.

Conclusion
Understanding the factors that influence and drive the affordable multifamily housing market is essential.