Survey: Air conditioning tops list of desired apartment amenities

Ranks of air conditioning, balcony, deck, patio, porch or yard, on-site swimming pool, in-unit washer and dryer, and Internet access on the list of apartment amenities renters treasure most during this time of year, according to a survey by Apartments.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Percentage of survey respondents who said access to desirable apartment amenities impact where they choose to live: 90
Percentage of respondents who said location and neighborhood have the biggest impact on their decision to choose one apartment over another if rent is not an issue: 35

Job losses and housing
Percentage of Americans who would lose their house or apartment if hit by an unexpected short-term job loss, according to a survey conducted by Zogby International: 22
Percentage who say they know someone who has gone through or is being forced to sell their home because of a foreclosure: 30
If forced to sell their homes today, percentage who said they would buy another home rather than rent: 50

Projects on the home front
Percentage of Americans who plan to tackle home improvement projects in the next few months, most of them spending more than $1,000, according to an Ace Hardware survey: 25
Percentage who are engaging their family for time and money-saving help: 49
Percentage asking their friends: 46

Energy-efficient dwellings    
Percentage of heating and cooling contractors who say the No. 1 thing they do to improve their home’s energy efficiency is change air filters on a regular basis, according to an online survey conducted by Lennox Industries: 85
Percentage of contractors who say the most common misconception when shopping for a new heating or cooling system is that a bigger system is always better: 39

Standing tall in the Windy City
Year that a radical new building – America’s first skyscraper – began to take shape in Chicago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1884
Number of stories high that designer William Jenney was able to build the structure using a metal frame for support, with walls hung like curtains on the frame (previously, walls supported buildings, limiting the height that could be safely reached): 10
Amount of money that the U.S. construction industry spends erecting nonresidential buildings every year: $263 billion

Well, hello, neighbor
Percentage of renters who have had a romantic relationship with a roommate or a neighbor living in the same apartment community, according to a national Apartments.com survey: 32
Percentage who have made those relationships last anywhere from a few months to more than a year: 21
Ranks of the pool and the laundry room on the list of the most popular spots for making sparks fly: 1, 2

Spring cleaning time
Ranks of public speaking and the annual ritual of spring cleaning on the list of activities most dreaded by Americans, according to a survey by LG Electronics USA Inc.: 1, 2
Percentage of those polled who wished there were options to make household cleaning easier: 84
Percentage of Americans who admit they tend to take shortcuts in cleaning: 60
Percentage who admit they typically clean only what can be seen because it is difficult to get to hard-to-reach places: 54

John MacIntyre is a Nova Scotia-based author and former city magazine editor. His “Figuratively Speaking” column, launched in 1989, is published in more than 40 newspapers and magazines.[[In-content Ad]]