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Apartment review ratings are highly reflective of resident satisfaction and prospect interest... right? In this edition of Brewing Data, we will peruse some findings from our most recent research report, Why Star Ratings Are No Longer Enough.
A property’s online reputation—as we all know—is of great importance. However, is it the end-all-be-all? Is there more nuance to a simple star rating? Are all ratings weighed the same? Does a 5-star review praising amenities viewed as positively as a 5-star review that appreciates onsite staff communication?
We surveyed over 1,000 apartment residents to better understand renter priorities, their non-negotiables, and quantify the real effect that certain review categories had on their leasing decision-making.
The report was able to help us establish a concrete hierarchy of renter concerns. It purports that specific issues related to health, safety, and financial transparency carry more water relative to other topics found in reviews. These issues manifest a powerful “Veto Effect” that negates high star ratings, destroying potential for new leases and retaining current ones.
Prospective renters are not taking property star ratings at face value. They investigate further, and even a small number of targeted complaints can eliminate a property from leasing consideration in spite of a positive star rating. For many prospects the omission of alarming red flags overpowers the presence of multiple green flags.
In our latest study, we categorized individuals who have low tolerance for overlooking deal-breakers as “unforgiving” renters. A significant portion (35.8% of our sample size) stated that—even in light of a positive star rating—they would not consider leasing at a property that stepped into a deal-breaker issue.
35.8% of renters state they would not reconsider a property with a deal-breaker issue, regardless of how high its overall rating is.
The sector of unforgiving renters is more pervasive amongst with renters aged 35-44 in the highest income. The relationship between unforgiving renters, age, and income are detailed in the table below:
Our latest research piece illustrated that reputation is a pass/fail test—not an average rating –for a meaningful part of the renter market. This finding demonstrates that taking a content-aware approach is warranted.
I encourage readers to digest the report in its entirety here.