RISMEDIA, May 13, 2010—More Americans are conducting apartment searches in the first quarter of 2010 versus previous years, according to a recently report by Apartments.com. While the rental industry continues to face challenging times, Apartments.com has experienced what they say is unprecedented growth in website traffic and renter leads to advertisers January through March of this year. Compared to this same period in 2009, Apartments.com has received 11 percent more visits to the website, but more importantly has increased the number of email and telephone leads to its apartment community advertisers by nearly 20 percent.
“Our site performance in Q1 is a glimmer of good news for the rental industry,” said Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments.com. “Over the past quarter, we have seen a significant spike in traffic and a 17 percent increase in both phone and email leads. This tells us that renters are doing more than just browsing. They are ready to rent and engaging the apartment communities listed on Apartments.com. Given this activity leading into peak rental season, it’s more important than ever for apartment communities to increase exposure online where the majority of renters are conducting their apartment searches.”
Typically, the peak season for the rental industry extends from April to August. However, activity levels from just the first three months of 2010 mirror that of peak rental season. In fact, Apartments.com recorded 5.1 million visits in March 2010, making it the second most visited month in the website’s 12 year history. Previous record breaking traffic and lead months have occurred during the traditional peak rental season months of June and July.
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 quarter of 2009, visits to Apartments.com via mobile devices increased 240 percent in 2010, and the number of consumers accessing apartment community information through text has more than doubled.
While it is not certain that this year-over-year trend will continue, the data suggests that 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 16 percent increase in the number of renters saying they plan to move during the first quarter of 2010 over the same period in 2009, which is supported by the renter activity Apartments.com is currently experiencing on its website.
For more information, visit www.apartments.com.
