As the homeownership rate has eroded from almost 70 percent a few years ago into the 64 percent range today, the number of renters has surged. That has placed substantial demand on the existing stock of rental housing, conversion of tens-of-thousands of formerly owner-occupied properties to renter status, and stimulated an explosion in new rental housing construction.
So how do rental owners and managers best and most effectively target renters today? They first must have knowledge into who today’s renters are, corresponding demographics, preferences – likes and dislikes — and how these people communicate and gather information. Or restated” “Where do they hang-out so-to-speak, what do they want and how do you contact them?”
RISMedia has just published a summary of recent surveys by Home.com and ForRent.com giving a view of the profile of today’s renters. The first survey taken during April and May 2014 yielded profile information while the second completed in July focused on renter’s search process for housing. The profile survey included approximately 2,200 respondents while the search process survey tallied approximately 3,600 participants.
The Renters (Respondents)
- 45 percent are single
- 22 percent are married with no children
- 80 percent are female – 20 percent male
- 24 percent earned a bachelor’s degree
- 35 percent attended high school
- 57 percent of renters have no pets
- Most common careers include corporate, retail and caretakers
Where Renters Hang Out
How Renters Search for Housing
- Renters use the internet almost as much as do homebuyers, with more than 80 percent having used their computer either All the Time or Often during their search process. [Almost 90 percent of homebuyers used the internet in their search process in the latest National Association of Realtors® 2013 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers.]
- Smartphones were used Often or Exclusively more than 50 percent of the time
- Tablets were used by 20 percent of the respondents
- 30 percent spent a month searching for a rental, 44 percent spanned 2 to 5 months and 15 percent more than six months
Preferences
- 50 percent believe that proximity to school or work is the most important neighborhood factor
- 25 percent would be willing to pay extra for covered parking
- 25 percent would be willing to pay extra for assigned parking
- 45 percent indicated they needed no special features (which means more than one-half need such amenities)
- 53 percent of respondents were searching for an apartment rather than other types of rental housing
To read the complete RISMedia report click http://rismedia.com/2014-10-09/the-anatomy-of-todays-renter/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=eNews
To view the five-page report click http://press.homes.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Renter_Profile_Insights_Report.pdf
The findings should be very beneficial to those in the rental industry. The more you know about customers, the better you can deliver results.
As stated in presentations the past two years, I believe the trend towards an increasing percentage of renters is a decade or longer trend.
Ted