What impact will phone service, Internet service and the availability of wireless have on future homebuyers? Lots, according to a brand new study of more than 1,000 apartment dwellers. So that begs the question … What are you doing about it?

Builders of single-family starter homes and multifamily condos and apartments need to be changing their designs, connectivity offerings and infrastructure wiring schemes to accommodate these future buyers.

Builders should always be looking at the next generation when they construct their homes and determine their amenity mix. Even active-adult builders need to know what the next swarm of retirees wants in their homes.

For most builders, especially those constructing starter homes, there might be no better indicator of future trends than today's apartment dwellers. These are the GenXers and GenYers who will soon be browsing your Web pages and plunking down their down-payments.

The recent Apartment Renter Technology Survey by the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) sheds some enlightening facts on the importance of technology among these future buyers.

According to the study, the days of the landline telephone are numbered. Only 58 percent of apartment homes have a wired landline phone, and only 38 percent consider it their primary phone. Renters are relying on mobile phones; 88 percent of renter households have a mobile phone compared to 74 percent of all households.

Moreover, as Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise, surprise …" the Internet has arrived! Seventy-eight percent of respondents have computers in their apartments; 85 percent of those subscribe to high-speed Internet service: cable, DSL or wireless.

The younger age of apartment renters—more than half of the survey respondents were under 34—suggests that high-speed Internet access will become an even higher priority for MDU builders and starter-home builders.

Indeed, an NMHC executive says that in the future, "properties may be ‘branded' as much for the quality of their Internet services as they are today for their curb appeal." It also means that MDU construction that is not conducive to cell phone coverage is a big no-no. People are not going to buy one of your units if their cell service sucks in that location.

Other interesting results include:

• Lower-income renters are just as involved with technology and desire it just as much as upper-income residents. Service penetration rates and rankings of importance are almost identical no matter the income range.
• Residents want wireless access; 69 percent would like communities to offer wireless hotspots.
• By a factor of 500 percent, residents would prefer to communicate with their community's staff in person versus sending an e-mail or using a Web portal. Calling the office was the second-most desired means of communicating.
• Flying in the face of the triple play … residents don't want their services bundled with a single service provider. Only 15 percent said that they were "likely" or "very likely" to bundle their phone, video and Internet services.
• While 94 percent say that they didn't choose their current apartment home because of the technology amenities it offered, they report that high-speed Internet, good cell phone reception and a choice of service providers might be important factors in choosing where to live next.