SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- More than two
thirds of renters have regrets about their apartment, according to
a new surveyi from HotPads®, an apartment and home
search platform for renters in urban areas in the United States. The apartments' monthly
cost and noise level are among their top regrets.
In fast-moving housing markets, renters often have to act
quickly to sign a lease, and in the process may overlook things
they will later regret. Over a quarter (26 percent) of renters
cited their monthly rental payment as their biggest regret after
moving in, followed by remorse over their apartments' noise level
(26 percent), and safety of the unit and neighborhood (21 percent).
However, renters admit noise and safety were not even in their top
five considerations during the apartment search.
Other common regrets include in-unit laundry (18 percent), a
parking garage (15 percent) and air conditioning (12 percent) –
elements that can be difficult to assess before moving in. Renter's
remorse can set in quickly: 61 percent of renters who have lived in
their new rental for less than three months already have at least
one regret about their choice. Since most renters opt for a
12-month leaseii, understanding what features matter
most before committing to a rental can help prevent some of these
common post move-in regrets.
"It's important for renters to think through how an apartment
will meet both their financial requirements and day-to-day needs,"
said Douglas Pope, co-founder and
general manager of HotPads. "If you like to go to bed early, you
may want to avoid a street-facing apartment on a noisy street, or
if you work from home occasionally, you'll want to check that the
building and neighborhood are quiet enough during the day. Doing as
much research as possible, in advance of a rental tour, may help
renters avoid regrets."
To help renters better understand what it's like to live in a
specific unit before signing a lease, HotPads is adding building
reviews to its robust Ratings and Reviews feature. Since launching
Ratings and Reviews for neighborhoods and units this summer,
HotPads has published over 90,000 Ratings and Reviews.
Top 10 Renter Regrets
Regret
|
Ranking
|
% of Renters Who
Had Regrets About This
|
% of Renters Who
Considered This Extremely Important During Their Apartment Search
and Rankingiii
|
Monthly
cost
|
1
|
26.4%
|
61.6% (1)
|
Noise
|
2
|
25.7%
|
25.7% (6)
|
Safety
|
3
|
21.3%
|
21.3% (7)
|
Conditioniv
|
4
|
19.0%
|
49.3% (2)
|
In-unit
laundry
|
5
|
17.7%
|
30.4% (4)
|
Size
|
6
|
17.3%
|
29.7% (5)
|
Parking
availability
|
7
|
14.6%
|
15.2% (8)
|
Air
conditioning
|
8
|
12.4%
|
44.9% (3)
|
Proximity to
neighbors
|
9
|
12.1%
|
8.0% (10)
|
Design
features
|
10
|
11.3%
|
13.7% (9)
|
HotPads
HotPads is the most efficient rental search platform for urban
areas across the United States,
with features designed for competitive markets such as map-based
search, real-time notifications and detailed information on
landlords and property managers, that help renters spend less time
searching and more time feeling excited about their next home.
Launched in 2005, HotPads is based in San Francisco and is owned and operated by
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG).
HotPads is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
i HotPads worked with Ipsos, a market research
company, to conduct this survey. A sample of 409 U.S. renters in
buildings with five or more units ("apartment renters") was
interviewed online, in English. The survey was fielded September 5 through September 7, 2017.
Respondents were a nationally representative sample of renters age
18 and older. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to each
study, in drawing samples. The source of these population targets
is the U.S. Census 2016 American Community Survey data.
ii Over two-thirds of renters (68 percent) sign a
traditional 12-month lease, according to the 2017 Zillow Group
Consumer Housing Trends Report
iii Percentage of renters who indicated that a
consideration was "extremely important" to them when making a
decision on an apartment to rent.
iv Condition includes the age and/or quality of unit
features such as appliances, flooring, paint, etc.
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/renters-wish-they-chose-a-cheaper-less-noisy-apartment-300536293.html
SOURCE Hotpads, Inc.