The peak for student housing leasing can begin as early as April and continue into
September or November, according to a new study from Apartment Guide.
Of course, that challenges the traditional convention of June to August as primary student housing leasing months in the industry. But a study of prospect leads generated in 2013 for 208 student housing communities nationwide showed the April through November to be true..
“Student housing regional managers and marketing directors have anecdotally sensed that peak leasing seasons might be different from market to market, but until now it’s been difficult to pinpoint on a regional, month-to-month basis when peak leasing activity occurs,” says Hannah Crosby, a strategic sales account executive at Apartment Guide. “With this more detailed information,student housing community managers and marketing and leasing staffs can now make better decisions regarding marketing, advertising and prospect engagement.”
Crosby presents her findings this week in the session The Digitally Savvy College Student: Market Research to Help Operators Spend Advertising Dollars Wisely panel presentation. She will be speaking at the National Apartment Association’s Student Housing Conference in Las Vegas.
Crosby’s data analysis offers visibility into lead metrics by print, phone, Internet, e-mail, mobile, and mobile e-mail lead source channels and reveals what she calls “surprising variances” in peak lead/leasing seasons by market. For example, in Auburn, AL, student housing leads start to peak in April and are declining by August. By contrast, in Virginia Beach the student housingmarket holds steady to the traditional peak July/August lease-up season. Bloomington, IN bucks the bell curve trend with two peak leasing seasons: one from March to May and another between September and November.
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