More and more tenants prefer apartments outfitted with the same technological advances enjoyed by home owners with high-speed Net access and, fortunately, many renters won't have to pay extra for such service.

Almost half of apartment tenants say the availability of high-speed Internet access would affect their decision to rent and a surprising 59 percent of apartment communities offering high-speed Net connections don't charge extra for the service, according to the "National Apartment Technology Survey", a recently released survey conducted by the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC).

"In the future, we expect prospective residents to routinely ask not only about rent, floorplans and fitness centers, but also whether a property has high-speed Internet access. For that reason, NMHC launched a technology initiative in 1998 to help apartment owners make smart technology decisions and investments," said Clarine Nardi Riddle, NMHC's senior vice president.

Los Angeles-based real estate consultant CEL & Associates surveyed approximately 30,000 apartment residents and 100 apartment managers for NMHC, and found that high-speed Internet access is becoming a must-have amenity for apartment residents. That's often because tenants want to bring work home and stay connected to work-based projects.

Earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency extolled the environmental virtues of a new program that encourages telecommuting in five major metro regions: Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington.

The pilot "telework" program is designed to reduce auto emissions, but working at home also helps promote the "It takes a village to raise a child" idea by leaving more people at home to watch out for kids, crime and fires among other Neighborhood Watch-type needs.

Working at home also takes some of the wear and tear off the commuting infrastructure of streets, roads and highways, it provides the social benefit of parents spending more time with their kids and it can give teleworkers a productivity advantage of less time on the road and more time at work.

The NMHC survey found:

• Forty-seven percent of apartment residents indicated that the availability of high-speed Internet access would affect their future decision to rent a particular apartment.
  

• While only 23 percent of tenants surveyed currently have high-speed Internet access, 45 percent of those who do not have access intend to seek such access this year.
  

• Seventy-seven percent of U.S. apartment residents are connected to the Internet, and they pay an average of $28 per month on the service.
  

• Among apartment communities providing high-speed Internet access, a surprising 59 percent do not charge extra for the amenity, while 41 percent do.
  

• The majority of U.S. apartment residents, 79 percent, have a desktop and 61 percent have a laptop computer in their homes. They spend from one to four hours per day computing.
  

• Eighty-two percent of apartment residents say they spend at least some computing time on work-related projects, with 25 percent spending at least half of their computing time on work projects.

The survey also examined the capabilities and usage of computer- and Internet-based technology by on-site apartment managers.

• It found that while 88 percent of community managers have a dedicated on-site computer, only 66 percent have Internet access and just 29 percent have high-speed Internet access. Sixty-three percent have their own e-mail address.

• Ninety-two percent of managers use the Internet to communicate with their firm's central office, 67 percent use it to communicate with other firm-owned properties and 64 percent use it to gather information on competitors. Fewer, 53 percent, use it to communicate with residents and 36 percent use the Net to communicate with vendors and suppliers.

"Leveraging technology to better serve apartment residents and to enhance property operations has been a priority goal for many apartment firms for several years now," said Riddle.

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