8 years ago I was studying consumer buying habits in the apartment industry and I found that it was an average of 3 visits to the community for the customer to make their decision to rent. I am happy to say that number is decreasing and in the case of our Generation Y renters, we are seeing that they will even lease on the first visit.
Why the change? Now we are smarter about what we make available to our potential renters online. They no longer have to revisit a property to select and apartment and drop off an application, all can be done with the convenience of online leasing tools. In addition, I have found that Generation Y is so comfortable doing their research online they will do most of their shopping via mouse and just visit the property to make sure the photos of the community they are choosing are real and up to date! Once again, Internet marketing is making the life of a Leasing Professional so much easier!
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We have seen the same trend ourselves. In 2008 online apartment shoppers that submitted a screened apartment reservation to a VaultWare powered property did so without first visiting the property 45% of the time. Up from 39% in 2007.
ReplyDeleteIn 2004, that number was only 19%.
We think this trend has a lot to do with Generation Y's comfort with all things online, as you suggest. We also wonder if gas prices are motivating people to cut back on the once required weekend of driving from community to community looking for their apartment.
My blog has a direct feed to a few other sites where there have been a lot of comments posted on the subject. Some are debating this point. My response relates to your position with online marketing.
ReplyDeleteTo close on the first visit you must have up to the moment information such as real time availability, great photos, testimonials and answer every question the renter may have. If you are not seeing this "close on the first visit with Gen Y" then you may want to dig deep to create a solid online position.