According to tradition, lore and law, October 1 is one of the two biggest moving days of the year (May 1 being the other). Let’s take a moment on this occasion to reflect on the data we’ve seen through our industry’s busiest time of year.
Apartments.com saw record traffic and lead conversion through the summer months, and while I’d like give credit to our recent site redesign, suffice to say macroeconomic trends came into play. Consider the following:
The number of Americans who owned their home in 2010 dropped again for the third year in a row, and not solely because of foreclosures, says the US Census Bureau, but due to a huge increase in people opting to rent instead of investing in home purchases. In fact, home ownership has hit its lowest level in decades, according to experts. Furthermore, an Apartments.com survey, more than 20% of respondents looking for an apartment this year said they are current homeowners. Survey respondents, who are former homeowners, also said they are renting this year because it affords them a lifestyle they prefer, including flexibility to relocate for employment opportunities and to live where they choose.
During the fourth quarter of 2010 alone, the amount of renters nationwide increased by 1.1 million and the National Multi Housing Council, quoting the Census Bureau, noted that vacancies were down again in Q2 of this year and over this time last year.
What this all means is lots of people are coming to sites like Apartments.com to look for a prime place to live, and, just like last year and likely for many years to come, we should expect to see plenty of moving trucks on the streets October 1.
What rental trends are you seeing in your market?
