More Americans Looking for Apartments during First Half of 2010

RISMEDIA, July 21, 2010—More Americans are searching for apartments in 2010 than they have in previous years. Despite ongoing challenges facing the rental industry, Apartments.com and its sister website ApartmentHomeLiving.com marked the first half of the year with record growth.

More telephone and email leads were generated during the second quarter of 2010 than any other quarter in the 12-year history of the company. Compared to the first half of 2009, Apartments.com has increased the number of renter email and telephone leads to its apartment community advertisers by 19%. In addition to the growing number of renters contacting the leasing office, Apartments.com family of websites have also seen a 14% uptick in traffic versus this same time last year.

“The significant level of renter activity on our site throughout the first half of the year is a positive indicator of what’s to come,” said Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com. “Based on the growing number of renters engaging with the apartment communities on our site during these first few months of peak rental season, it’s clear they are in need of an apartment and ready to rent. As we approach the height of peak rental season, it’s important for apartment communities to be online and in front of renters where they are searching.”

In addition to searching online, it is apparent renters want easy access to listings on-the-go as Apartments.com has also seen record growth within its mobile sector. Compared to the first half of 2009, visits to Apartments.com via mobile devices increased 117% in 2010, and the number of consumers accessing apartment community information through text messages increased by 250%. Apartments.com is also improving the mobile search experience by being the first Internet Listing Service to provide renters with convenient access to the “Check Availability” feature, allowing renters to view available apartments that they can reserve from the palm of their hand.

While it is not certain that this year-over-year trend will continue, the data suggests consumers are in the market for a new apartment. This is further supported by national survey data fielded in December 2009 by Apartments.com, which revealed renters are planning to move earlier in the year. The survey reported a 15% increase in the number of renters saying they plan to move during the first half of 2010 over the same period in 2009, which is evidenced by the renter activity Apartments.com is currently experiencing on its website.

Jewell and I (Jay Kaiser) manage approximately 70 rental properties in the Brevard and Breavrd NC areas, and we can attest that the phone is ringing off the hook. We are finding that more are in low end price point. This can be seen by my inventory from our web site http://www.homeinbrevard.com/homes-for-rent-in-brevard-nc.aspx