As competition for apartments increase along with rents, apartment shoppers need to be even more informed and savvy. They must understand the different market rates of apartments located in the areas they want to live in order to be able to identify realistic housing options during their search.

At Apartments.com, we wanted to find out if our users have a firm grasp on the actual cost of rent, or if their rent perceptions needed to be put in check. To find out, we compared the average cost of rent our visitors were using to search for a one bedroom apartment on Apartments.com to the actual rent being advertised. The results revealed a significant gap between how much apartment hunters think rent costs and reality. Here are some of the findings: Read More

The team at Apartments.com had the opportunity to give a recent grad a leg up on relocating for a sought-after job opportunity on the Ellen DeGeneres show. Watch as Ellen surprises a Spokane-resident with her dream job as a production assistant on her favorite talk show. Job hunters should take notice of how the recent grad created a video resume rap showing just how much she wanted to work for The Ellen DeGeneres Show. With a little help from Apartments.com to make the move from WA to LA, Erica Norris’ dream is now a reality!

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Could renters be the ones to call this upcoming presidential election? If history repeats itself, they most certainly will. Four years ago, Apartments.com visitors were surveyed on the 2008 presidential election and more than half said they were voting for then-candidate Barack Obama. As the countdown to the 2012 presidential election winds down, we reveal the results of a similar survey where nearly 70% of respondents say they are backing a President Barack Obama re-election over Governor Mitt Romney.

When comparing the two surveys, we noticed some interesting trends in how the attitudes among renters about certain aspects of the election and how their political activity fared from 2008 to 2012.  For example, the number of survey respondents who said they are registered to vote fell 10% from 2008 to 2012, and more than 40% described themselves as very politically active back in 2008 in contrast to the 22% who consider themselves that way today. Read More

Kicking off premier week for the 10^th season of the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the team at Apartments.com had the opportunity to provide $20,000 toward free rent for a year to a family who lost their home during Hurricane Isaac. Over 13,000 people in the New Orleans area were affected by Hurricane Isaac, including the Schaffer family, from Braithwaite, LA. Despite their loss, Jesse Schaffer and his son, Jesse Schaffer, Jr., grabbed boats and set out to help those affected by the storm. Within a 24-hour period, during the height of the Hurricane, they had rescued 120 people and their pets and brought them to safety.

When she heard the Schaffer’s story, Ellen, a New Orleans native, wanted to recognize them for their heroic efforts. Apartments.com is proud to be able to provide the Schaffer family with $20,000 toward free rent for a year! Watch the clip below to hear more about the Schaffer’s story and see Ellen surprise them with free rent! Read More

Must love dogs is what the sign outside your property should read if you want to attract pet-loving prospects. Dogs of all sizes dominated the list of the most popular pets for renters, according to a recent survey by Apartments.com.

If your apartment community does not have a pet-friendly policy, you may want to reconsider as 43% of renters surveyed said they are pet owners, with more than a quarter planning on getting a four-legged friend within the next year.  This is especially true if you have properties in Texas, California and Florida as those states ranked the highest in pet population among renters . Renters also made it clear that whether or not a property had a pet-friendly policy played a major factor in choosing where to live. Read More

Many savvy renters are continually on the hunt for tips to maximize their living space.  Below are three must-have products to share with your residents to help them create storage even in the smallest bathrooms by using floating shelves, tiered bathroom storage and an over-the-door shoe rack.

Floating Shelves: Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Father’s Day is around the corner and it’s a great opportunity to do something special for the Dads in your community.  Most people will want to spend the day with their children, so try one of these fun activities in the days leading up to Father’s Day. Read More

As the class of 2012 turns their tassels and leave campus life, savvy grads are finding they still have some homework to do to identify the cities that offer the best opportunity for employment, a place to live and the best quality of life as a young professional.  To help give these newly minted grads a leg up in both a competitive job and rental market, Apartments.com and CareerBuilder teamed up for the fifth year in a row to reveal the Top 10 Best Cities for College Graduates list.  Backed by our expertise in apartments and jobs, we tailored our list to what matters most to new grads—a place to live that affords them a lifestyle they can enjoy and the best overall opportunity.

Check out the infographic below to see the top 10 cities for new grads, average cost of rent for a one bedroom apartment, hottest jobs and more.  Did your city make the list?  Even if it didn’t, tell us why your hometown is a fabulous place for new grads to settle down in the comments section. Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

May is the perfect time to start thinking about container gardening at your apartment community, so we asked our friends at Gethsemane Garden Center for some advice.  Check out these five tips for keeping your property blooming this season. Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

With social media constantly changing, it can seem like the options are endless, so where do you start?  Look no further!  Here are 25 things you should be doing with social media right now: Read More