Renters Continue the Hunt for Apartments Despite COVID-19

The coronavirus is disrupting almost every industry and corner of American life. The group seeming unchanged by it all? Renters—at least before many states issued stay-at-home orders, according to a survey by RENTCafe. A majority of respondents said that they still planned to move while just under half had no concerns in particular due to the coronavirus. If the renters did change their plans, a majority are looking for something cheaper. RENTCafe plans to rerun the survey to see if sentiment has changed after stay-at-home orders.

Moving is hardly ever easy and anything that delays the process adds to our stress and displeasure. The outbreak of a novel virus is more than enough reason to put a pin on moving plans for many renters caught in-between homes.

Just two days before several states started issuing stay-at-home orders, RENTCafé.com conducted a survey of over 6,000 people searching for a new rental home, to find out their perception and initial reaction in these troubling times. The survey ran between March 18th and 20th and asked renters whether they’re still planning to move now, what is their main concern, if and for how long they intend to postpone moving, and how do their renting preferences and selection process change, if at all.

The responses were surprisingly optimistic across the board for a majority of respondents, despite rising concerns regarding the spread of Covid-19 and a visible drop in overall apartment search volume just in the past week.

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