KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A study recently released in the metro is shedding light on the housing trends of millennials living in downtown Kansas City.
The study was conducted by metro-based Highline Partners, a real estate marketing firm.
The company said it conducted a 32 question survey with over 200 millennials from Kansas City, many of whom are highly educated with higher incomes, who now live downtown.
While the survey was not scientific, it brought surprising results.
With apartments competing against one another, amenities like tanning beds, bocce ball courts, cooking classes, and pet spas have been offered to try and attract millennials.
However, according to the study, the generation may instead prefer basic amenities like secure covered parking, open floor plans, and fitness centers.
“The real amenities are the things that common sense says you would want in an apartment,” explained Brett Posten, who helped organize the survey.
The study also shed light on what the future could hold for millennials living downtown.
Of the group that was surveyed, the majority said they wanted to live somewhere other than downtown in five years.
The northland, Brookside/Waldo, and Prairie Village/Fairway were the most popular areas where the millennials said they would like to live in the next few years.
“These are walkable neighborhoods. They're urban neighborhoods but they're not in the urban core,” Posten explained. “There's a point in which millennials exit their later years because they're starting families and they're looking at schools."
Kathryn Jones, who also helped organize the study for Highline Partners, said the results went against a “myth” that millennials are most interested in urban neighborhoods.
“There's a trend we're seeing in millennials following in the footsteps of their parents,” she explained.
Other parts of the survey showed these results:
- 63% of millennials surveyed make more than $51,000
- 74% of the millennials surveyed want to buy, not rent their next place
- 90% of the millennials surveyed own a car
Despite the high number of car owners, Posten said the millennials had a common wish for Kansas City.
“They would love to see better transit and they will support better transit,” he explained. “They kept on coming back to public transportation."
While the results could offer a glimpse into trends of millennials, both Jones and Posten said planners shouldn't rush to judgment about the future.
“To those building right now and thinking about building downtown, there's generation Z right behind them,” Jones explained.
Moving forward, Highline Partners may hold future surveys on millennial housing in the metro with a broader reach.
“Kansas City is a great city for millennials,” Posten added. “It's affordable, you can buy a house."
