If you haven’t heard already, a lot of buzz has been generated around our What Renters Want survey results revealing how renters are using social media during their apartment search.  Check out some of the conversations happening online and let us know your thoughts on the survey results. 

Is your community using social media to attract prospects and retain residents?  If so, tell us what’s working and what you’ve learned. Read More

We’ve been talking a lot about how October 1, along with May 1, are traditionally the biggest moving days of the year, and naturally got a lot of folks asking why that is. Our assumption was that it was pegged to the seasons: That no one in his or her right mind would choose to move in the extremes of winter or summer. But we decided to do a little digging – internet-style – into the origins of the fall and spring moving rituals, and found we were not too far off. According to Wikipedia, the May 1 tradition got its start in New York:

Moving Day was a tradition in New York City dating back to colonial times and lasting until after World War II. On February 1, sometimes known as “Rent Day”, landlords would give notice to their tenants what the new rent would be after the end of the quarter, the tenants would spend good-weather days in the early spring searching for new houses and the best deals and on May 1 all leases in the city expired simultaneously at 9:00 AM, causing thousands of people to change their residences, all at the same time. Read More

In July, Apartments.com conducted a survey to apartment hunters across the country to find out if they protect themselves with renters insurance.  Despite the fact that renters are 50 percent more likely to experience theft than those who own homes, nearly 70 percent of survey respondents said they do not carry renters insurance.  The top reason apartment seekers gave for not getting insured was that they thought it was too expensive followed by many who did not know it existed.

While nearly a quarter of apartment hunters are under the assumption that renters insurance is too rich for their blood, the average premium is less than $200 a year and even the majority of survey respondents who are insured said they pay an average of $12.50 a month or less.  Most Americans spend more than that on their morning coffee. Read More