Over One Million Consumers Go Online in July to Look for Apartments
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorScottsdale, Ariz.–For the first time, the monthly total for consumers checking specific apartment unit availability online exceeded the one million mark, according to Realty DataTrust’s VaultWare reservation system, which logged the usage from July 1 to July 31, 2008.VaultWare distributes apartment unit availability information through a national network of over…
By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorScottsdale, Ariz.–For the first time, the monthly total for consumers checking specific apartment unit availability online exceeded the one million mark, according to Realty DataTrust’s VaultWare reservation system, which logged the usage from July 1 to July 31, 2008.VaultWare distributes apartment unit availability information through a national network of over 125 Web sites that includes Internet Listing Services (I.L.S.), Internet search sites and property management Web sites. According to the VaultWare Online Marketing Index, the ILSs that renters frequent the most in their searches for online information accounted for a combined total of 294 “check availability” clicks and 6.9 reservations per property.Those sites include: 1. Rent.com 2. Apartments.com 3. ApartmentGuide.com 4. ForRent.com 5. Move.comThese sites experienced the highest number of VaultWare-powered availability transactions in July, contributing to the record-breaking month. Checking availability and reserving online typically begins the leasing process for prospects who want to hold an apartment they see on theInternet and then often visit in person, according to Gina Kilker, vice president of marketing for Realty DataTrust.”The one-million mark is something we had projected to hit this year. It’s clear to us that consumers, whether they are shopping for an apartment or airline tickets or in case of any other purchase, go online specifically searching for concrete information they can use immediately to make decisions. That was the exact premise that drove the development of VaultWare when it was launched in 2003.”