Engrain | Search Convergence: Navigating the Future of Apartment Websites

Leasing has always been a complex and dynamic journey. Now, the immersive digital components required for modern leasing and touring have augmented the intricacies of those processes—particularly when it comes to apartment websites. Although they play an integral role in the apartment search experience for today’s renters, websites and internet listing services (ILSs) are often neglected as part of the overall digital transformation. Tech-savvy operators are correcting this misstep and strategically redefining the prospect journey by seamlessly merging the physical and digital elements of the search process.

Immersive Content

For years, community websites have remained largely the same, consisting of a minimal list of information and perhaps a stock photo or two of an apartment home and the property. While this may have served operators well in the past, today’s prospective residents have come to expect more.

“In the ever-evolving digital landscape, maintaining an impactful online presence goes beyond mere snapshots, with real-time pricing and availability,” said Jamie Gorski, Chief Experience Officer for Windsor Communities. “To stay ahead, it’s imperative to continuously enhance website functionality, ensuring renters find the comprehensive information they seek, tailored to their diverse needs and preferences. This investment is essential. As we transition to our new business model, prioritizing centralized support with regionalized leasing, it’s crucial for the website to evolve accordingly, ensuring it aligns seamlessly with our updated approach and continues to deliver an unparalleled customer experience.”

Modern community websites are not simply information depositories – they are the beginnings of an immersive resident experience. Aiming to provide a visual journey to potential residents, websites should offer a complete picture of not only what the community and apartment homes encompass but also the surrounding neighborhood. Understanding the importance of location, operators are utilizing websites to showcase a property’s proximity to nearby attractions, amenities and scenic views through street and satellite imagery.

“Today’s consumers aren’t simply interested in the appeal of a particular apartment home or community, but the surrounding neighborhood as well,” said Terry Moody, Vice President of Marketing and Technology for Toll Brothers Apartment Living. “Our strategy is to provide prospects with a holistic look at both the community itself and the nearby destinations to help them make an informed decision. Ultimately, we want our community websites to empower renters on their journey by giving them all the information they need to lease an apartment home.”

Providing the wealth of information today’s prospective residents crave also means offering a more customizable search experience.

Tailored User Experience

An apartment search should never be generalized or assumed to be the same for everyone. It must be tailored to fit the unique specifications of each individual prospect. Some residents prioritize having a nice view or a specific unit location while others place an emphasis on being close to shops and restaurants. Enabling a more personalized apartment search powered by filters and brimming with visual information greatly enhances the search experience.

“When we enter partnerships and bring on new products, we place a tremendous emphasis on customization,” said Gunnar Blakeway-Walen, Marketing Manager of FLATS by ProperXPM. “We don’t want to limit renters or ourselves, especially when it comes to technology, and everything is evolving so fast. Ensuring that community websites feature search customization capabilities and contain robust information and visuals has been fundamental for us in converting more leases.”

Customizing the experience by including a plethora of information and providing prospects the ability to filter results is just one part of revolutionizing apartment websites to optimize digital leasing. Making detailed, interactive maps accessible to potential residents is just as important.

Interactive Property Maps

One of the key aspects of transforming apartment community websites is the integration of interactive maps. These maps not only provide a layout of the property and enable self-guided touring capabilities, but also serve as the centralized hub for users to explore detailed information, including photos, floor plans, amenities, neighborhood features and unit-level data. By including an interactive map on websites and ILSs, operators can expand community exposure and appeal to a broader audience, leading to more qualified lease conversions.

“We know that property websites are the best opportunity to inform prospects about the community and its surroundings,” said Noel Carson, Vice President of Marketing and Creative Director for Bozzuto. “Our goal is to create a fully branded experience within the property website, and by including detailed visuals and interactive maps, we create a more frictionless customer experience.”

Including maps on websites that reach multiple ILS platforms also helps streamline the leasing process. Additionally, operators can consolidate their entire portfolio into one interactive map, further simplifying the search experience. Prospects can easily compare apartment homes, schedule tours and access specific unit-level details, including real-time availability and pricing, allowing them to make a more informed decision.

Know What Works - Data Analytics

While website enhancements undoubtedly improve the prospect search experience, they also benefit operators. Beyond boosting their property’s visibility via map distribution on multiple ILS applications, operators can track prospect interactions and gain valuable insights, empowering them to make more data-driven decisions.

“When assessing website interactivity and capabilities, we’re able to identify challenges and user behavior opportunities across all of our websites,” Moody said. “Our community websites are built on the same code base, so we’re able to implement testing across our entire portfolio. We can enable a new feature on one website and understand how it performs, and if successful, we can roll it out in a distributed update across all of our portfolio.”

The evolution of apartment websites has been and will continue to be fundamental to enhancing the digital leasing experience. By embracing immersive content, interactive maps and tailoring the user experience, operators are improving prospect engagement and streamlining touring and leasing processes. This innovative approach doesn’t solely meet the varying needs of prospective residents, it empowers operators to make informed, data-driven decisions and accelerate growth in an increasingly competitive multifamily market.

Learn more at the Apartmentalize session, “The Search Convergence: Navigating the Future of Apartment Websites,” on Thursday, June 20 at 2:15 p.m. and “Static to Dynamic: Revolutionizing Apartment Websites in the Digital Era,” on Friday, June 21 at 9 a.m.

Read the full article from National Apartment Association.

Written by

Andrew Ruhland

Published on

June

2024

Integrations & APIs

Company

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