Report: Renters looking again

Apartment related searches are on a rebound, above pre-pandemic levels, settling back into typical seasonal trends, according to RENTCafe.com traffic data and Google Trends.

Here are some more highlights:

• Between March 11 – 17, the report noted that 25% fewer renters were looking for an apartment compared to one week prior. Now, apartment searches not only recovered the traffic that was lost, but also increased by 17%, compared to early March, when the first shelter-in-place orders were issued.
• The findings are backed up by Google Trends data, which shows that renters are once again interested in “apartments for rent.” This search keyword increased in popularity, reaching the same level it was at pre-crisis.
• Moreover, in Rent Cafe's most recent survey, 62% of the 9,000 respondents expressed a clear intent to carry on with moving plans, up by 10 points from the end of March. Also, the percentage of renters who plan on staying put had dropped from 17% to 11%.

You can read the full report here: https://www.rentcafe.com/blog/rental-market/real-estate-news/apartment-searches-rebound-april/.