subject: Rising Traffic To Apartment Rental Websites Show That More Americans Are Renting In 2010 [print this page] A recent report provided by the national Internet Listing Service indicates, more Americans searching for apartments this year. This conclusion was based on the record-breaking traffic and growth Apartments(dot)com is experiencing in 2010. Apartments(dot)com reports an increase in visits to the site by more than 14% through June this year compared to 2009 plus an increase in the number of email and telephone leads to its advertisers by nearly 19%. According to Kevin Doyle, senior vice president and general manager of Apartments(dot)com, this could indicate an definite increase in the number of renters.
"Over the past five months, we have seen a significant spike in site traffic and 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."
For the apartment industry, peak rental season extends from April to August. The site saw a slight shift in this activity as the bulk of traffic was noticed in the first quarter. Apartments(dot)com reports to have sent more leads to advertisers in the first quarter of 2010 than any first quarter in its 12-year history. 1st Lake Properties reports that historically, the same peaks and valleys in traffic usually occur. But experienced a rather noticeable peak of traffic in February, showing more apartment rental traffic than March and April of 2010.
According to the ILS, "...renters are accessing apartment information on their mobile phones. Record growth for Apartments(dot)com extends beyond the computer to the mobile phone as evidenced by a more than 250% increase in mobile activity, and the number of consumers accessing apartment community information through text has more than doubled."
Local management companies such as 1st Lake Properties, prepared for this possible upturn based on the lull in traffic the previous apartment rental season seemed to show. Offering not only renovation apartments for rent, but introducing into the market place rent events such as the "River Ridge Reduced Rent Event" & Event 2, and "Money 2 Move Now", to assist a new influx of renter's with move-in costs.
