Increased apartment searches may also indicate improved consumer optimism
Renters are back to apartment hunting, merely a month after they focused their Google searches on home office setups and home disinfection.
Searches for apartments returned to pre-crisis levels in April. RENTCafe noticed a 17% month-over-month increase in apartment searches on its website. Google Trends also experienced a search surge for "apartments," " apartments for rent," and "apartment near me."
To confirm the improved consumer optimism, RENTCafe recently surveyed 9,000 renters. The survey found that 62% of the respondents plan to move as soon as they find a new apartment despite the coronavirus outbreak.
Just 11% will stay put, while the rest were either undecided or putting their move on hold. Additionally, 42% are sticking with the traditional apartment selection process, while 28% want to try virtual home tours to help select an apartment.
