By USDR
When it comes to the biggest influence in selecting their next apartment home, renters are swayed most by cost (63 percent) when their lease is expiring. This finding is one of the insights from research recently released by Apartment Finder that explores how apartment hunters shop and what entices them to sign the lease.
“Our latest study offers compelling insights for anyone in the business of leasing apartments,” said Marcia Bollinger, President of Apartment FinderApartment. “The findings reinforce the importance of leveraging leading-edge online and mobile tools to reach apartment shoppers when they are actively engaged in their search process.”
The list of other key findings from this national online survey of over 5,000 apartment seekers across the U.S. is shown below:
1) Online peer ratings and reviews matter: Nearly all (96 percent) respondents said that online reviews influence their decision when choosing an apartment.
2) The final decision rests on the bottom line. Price/budget largely drives renters’ final apartment choice. Location (24 percent) came in a distant second, followed by neighborhood crime statistics (7.3 percent), school system (3 percent), and community amenities (2.6 percent).
3) Renters are on the move. The top 3 reasons that apartment shoppers are looking for a new home are: their current lease is expiring (42 percent); job relocation/new job (22 percent); and moving out of parents’ home (18 percent).
4) Apartment shoppers increasingly prefer to search on the move: While using their personal computer is still the leading method for searching for their next apartment home, nearly half (49 percent) of apartment hunters prefer to use their mobile device.
5) Mobile users not only browse, but take action: With calling (45 percent) and emailing (42 percent) ranking as the top two ways to contact an apartment community to learn more, a mobile device makes it easy and convenient to do so. In fact, nearly half (49 percent) of respondents used their mobile device to call the apartment community directly from the listing.
“Our commitment to helping multi-family companies and apartment communities successfully market their properties is the driving force behind our ongoing research on how and why consumers shop for apartments,” said Bollinger.
SOURCE: Apartment Finder
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