Top 5 Reasons Tenants Move
Chances are you or someone you know has probably moved recently. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as a country we move, and we move a lot.
From 2012 to 2013 alone 35.9 million Americans moved from one residency to another (in case you were wondering that’s 11.7% of the U.S. population!)
But why are so many people moving?
Well according to that same Census Bureau report “Of the 35.9 million people 1 year and over that moved between 2012 and 2013, 17.2 million (48.0 %) gave a housing related reason for moving.”
When asked, nearly half of those people who moved said that housing-related issues were the catalyst for their move. To be clear these housing-related issues can vary from people wanting to live in a nicer home located in a better neighborhood, to those who have been evicted. However, some of the reasons for a person’s move can be preventable with the right management of their property.
- Upgrading to nicer Home/Apartment: This listed reason accounts for approximately 15% of all moves.
- Family Matters: (not the sitcom) Reasons relating to family account for 15% of all moves
- Housing (general): This reason encompasses everything from wanting more affordable living to wanting to live in a nicer neighborhood and accounts for 14% of moves.
- Starting your own household: Just married? Tired of living with your parents? 10% of movers move for this very reason.
- New Employment: Congrats on the new job! Sorry, but you have to re-locate. Looks like you just joined 9% of all movers who moved for a new job.
Having just moved recently myself (I fall into category #4 for those wondering) I can tell you that moving your life is no easy feat. This leads us to the next important statistic when looking at why tenants move: distance moved. As it turns out most people don’t want to leave the geographical area they feel comfortable with. According to the census bureau’s report, 57.6% of all movers are what we call “intra-county” movers. These movers typically only move within a 15 mile radius of their current location.
With all of this data at our disposal it should come as some relief that even when most people choose to move, it’s not to leave the real estate market they already live in. Take a look at two numbers I listed above: 48% (Moved because of housing related issue) and 57.6% (“intra-county” movers).
These numbers illustrate a really clear picture. People really do not enjoy moving away, but if their quality of housing is lackluster they are more likely to take up roots and move (albeit nearby) to a property that they believe is better. With that in mind, maintaining a beautiful property should become all that more important when trying to prevent tenants from leaving your rental property. Here at Longford Management we have a long track record of helping clients keep their investment properties appealing, and occupied. From delivering immediate attention that keep tenants happy, to increasing the rental value of a property through full property renovations, we know what it takes to encourage good tenants to stay.
