Renters Don’t Need a Tour to Sign a Lease

The in-person tour has gone the way of the buggy whip. Today, prospective renters are more reliant on virtual tours and property photos to sign a lease than an in-person tour. Would-be renters prefer the comfort of apartment hunting from home and using technology. In fact, according to research from Entrata, 25% of renters surveyed signed a lease without seeing an apartment at all.

“Virtual tours and photos provide a way for would-be tenants to get a sense of what an apartment and community look like without having to leave their home or travel to the location,” Chase Harrington, president and COO at Entrata, tells GlobeSt.com. “This is ideal in today’s fast-paced culture where apartment hunters don’t have the time available to stop and see apartments they’re interested in.”

Virtual tours are growing in popularity, but necessary information is often missing from apartment websites. The same Entrata survey shows only 9% of online listings have the rental price and floor plans are only available 14% of the time. These details are also important. “One of the biggest things landlords can do is to simply make those options available,” says Harrington. “In a recent study Entrata performed we found that leasing offices are not always available to provide the help they needed, and online options often didn’t have the information apartment hunters needed. By simply providing these up-to-date options, I believe landlords will be able to sign tenants at a much higher rate.”

Virtual tours help lead to a signed lease, but getting a virtual tour in front of a prospective renter is challenging. Most people search for apartments online, using search engines and apartment finders. “Not surprisingly, the number one place renters are searching for rental options is online,” explains Harrington. “This could be via search engines like Google, online apartment finders or a location’s website. Because of this, it’s more important than ever for apartment communities to keep their listings, pricing, photos, etc., current and accurate. If they don’t, they’re simply going to miss out on many potential renters.”

This is only the beginning. As technology becomes commonplace in everyday life, prospective renters will expect technology in their homes. “This speaks volumes to the importance of technology in apartment leasing,” says Harrington. “As renters rely more and more heavily on virtual options, apartment management and landlords need to utilize the very latest options available to them. This includes technology for their current renters as well, such as online payments, virtual assistants, package and maintenance scheduling and so much more.”

For more information on multifamily news, join us at RealShare APARTMENTS in Los Angeles, CA from October 29-30, 2018. This event attracts more than 1,000 of the industry’s top owners, investors, developers, brokers and financiers as they gather for THE MULTIFAMILY EVENT OF THE YEAR! This conference is powered by GlobeSt.com, the go-to-source for multifamily news and analysis. To register for RealShare APARTMENTS visit: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/ehome/302312/653773/.