Our customers at Apartment Search regularly ask, “Is this neighborhood safe?” We usually refer them to the local police precinct, to speak with an information officer who can answer questions about recent crime in the area. There are also some good websites to check for details on neighborhood crime.
Some online resources include NeighborhoodScout or SpotCrime. One particularly important point to note is the issue of sexual predators. CrimeReports.com allows you to enter your address to locate crime statistics, plus identify whether registered sexual predators are living nearby. Please note that unless your local policing authority is reporting crimes to these online sources, there may not be accurate or complete data.
It’s getting better all the ti-i-ime! At least, in the 2008 St. Louis apartment rental market… “St. Louis fared better than the nation as a whole,” according to a new survey from RubinBrown, an accounting and business consulting firm with offices in Clayton (as reported in the Post Dispatch by Tim Logan).
“The average rent in market-rate buildings climbed to $769 a month from $715 last year,” according to RubinBrown. Now, that’s good news — almost a 9-percent increase! (The national average was a 2.2-percent increase). St. Louis also saw a 1.1-percent increase in occupancies (from 86.2 to 87.3). Whoohoo!
At our Anniversary party, several managers told me their occupancies were highest (low 90′s) at the end of August, and have been steadily declining ever since. Biggest reason: job loss. St. Louis has 9.5 percent unemployment, versus 9.8 percent reported nationally in September.
So, while it appears St. Louis is faring better than most, renting apartments is still an uphill battle. Increased rents put in place last summer will hopefully offset incentives necessary to attract new residents this winter.
In the meantime, “…apartment owners and managers (are) focused on trimming overhead and cutting payroll costs,” concluded Brian Keller of RubinBrown. C’mon, summer of 2010 — time for the tide to turn positively and permanently for the St. Louis apartment industry.
As brokers in the St. Louis rental market, Apartment Search is constantly doing a balancing act between haggle-happy renters and bottomline-shackled owners. It’s a balancing act with a win/win result always as our goal.
Lately, we’ve really gotten caught in the middle with our private listings — outrageous offers coming in on units already grossly underpriced. So renters, here’s a different perspective, a little food for thought.
I recently read an apartment community in Las Vegas was offering 5 months free rent. Yikes! Pretty soon, they’ll be paying people to move in… The question is, how much longer can landlords offer 40 percent off, and stay in business? Not long.
Today’s renters are well informed and sophisticated. They don’t hesitate to negotiate down to the lowest possible rental rate. And I agree — it is the savvy renter’s job to get the best possible deal.
But sooner or later, renters have to realize it may ultimately cost them. Since 2008, we have seen a steady wave of renters forced to relocate because their landlords wound up in foreclosure.
Free rent is great, but if the end result is moving in a couple of months with little or no notice, it’s definitely not so great — not for the renter, the community, the local economy, you, or me.
So go after that great deal, but consider whether your landlord will have enough money left over after the mortgage, taxes and insurance to keep up the maintenance (or replace your furnace come next February). And remember the old adage — if it’s too good to be true, it probably is…
Kathryn Wood
Founder and CEO
Apartment Search, Inc.
Apartment Search’s 23rd Anniversary party was a blast! More than 100 guests, most of our fave people from the apartment industry, and lots of new leasing agents dripping with personality.
I got the entertainment started with a Karaoke rewrite of the Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” — ‘Off the Mississippi, there’s a place called St. Louis, MO. It’s where you want to go to get the best deals of all…’ What I lacked in skill I made up for in enthusiasm.
West Point outdid me with a darling skit based on Dr. Seuss’s ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ — you go, Lisa, you and your talented staff! I’ll get a copy of it, and share later.
Then Fieldpointe jumped in with their own rendition of “My Boss’ (No muscle-bound man can take me away from my boss…). Champika, you really have a winning team there. That Leslie can sing! And I hear they close as well as they croon.
Lots of eats, a couple of drinks, and German chocolate cake to die for (thank you, Lubely’s Bakery!). A few hours to stop, relax, sing and dance, to catch up and enjoy a little out-of-the office bonding. No business, just fun, fun, fun.
I always say I love this industry, but what I really love are the incredible people in it — dedicated, hardworking, caring people who tirelessly give more than they get. You guys are so great! Thank you for coming to our party. And, hey, start thinking about a skit for next year…
Kathryn Wood
Founder and CEO
Apartment Search, Inc.
It’s almost here — Apartment Search’s 23rd Anniversary Party! We received 150 RSVPs, and 3 apartment communities are doing skits. Add kareoke, and it should be a wildly entertaining night!
I am going to pick up the German chocolate cake myself at Lubely’s. Last year, MacArthur’s blew it by sending a yellow cake, so I’m not taking any chances this year.
If there is a piece missing, I was just testing for quality assurance — only the best for our St. Louis relocation and apartment industry guests. And it is my favorite…
We look forward to toasting and roasting the women and men who give so selflessly and tirelessly all year long to the St. Louis apartment industry. See you all there!
Check this out – one of our favorite Central West End highrises is offering 1-bedrooms for $600/mo — you save $2,400.00 on a year lease! Or save $250.00/mo on their oversized 2-bedrooms, perfect for roommates, only $830/mo.
Hurry — offer expires 10/10/09. Call us for details on DCA at 314- 821-4999, or email me at kmwood@apartment-search.com. If you’re not looking right now, but know someone who is, pass it on!
Hard to believe it’s been 23 years since I sat in my business partner’s basement pseudo-office and we began the daily routine of following our basic business plan to launch Apartment Search in St. Louis, MO.
It took us six months to research and lay it all out, but it was simple. Our goal was to help frustrated renters find what they were looking for as quickly and painlessly as possible, and we would only charge the properties when we delivered.
We signed up apartments and owners under a non-exclusive contract that didn’t cost them a dime unless they got a lease. We called on corporations and real estate agencies, offering free assistance with their renters.
We accompanied every prospect we saw, walked them through the process, and sent them a thank-you note so they had mail in their new mailbox. Simple. It was all based on the fact that we truly wanted to help. And it has worked. For 23 years!
So, for the last 13 years, we have celebrated in October by throwing an anniversary party. The tradition began in 1996, when it dawned on me that we had not only survived, but succeeded, for a whole 10 years! Cause for celebration.
It was a small affair, with our favorite people from the rental and relocation industries. When I saw the VP of our second-largest property management client doing a jello shot with no hands, I knew the party was a hit. We had to do it again.
Now, every year we throw a party, but for a different reason. It’s not to congratulate ourselves. We take that one evening to recognize and thank all the hardworking, caring people in this industry who help us do our job so well.
It’s a chance to remind them how we see them going above and beyond again and again to help every prospect or transferee. We see it daily, we know how much it takes, and we deeply, deeply appreciate them. It’s our one opportunity to just tell them so.
We invite the staffs of every property we represent, from the owner to the maintenance guys. We invite our corporate contacts, our relocation referrers, and our real-estate agency supporters. We invite friends, customers who have used our services, and rental prospects currently looking.
We invite everyone who understands just how difficult and demanding the apartment industry can be.
So if you’re reading this, you know. And you’re invited! It’s on October 21st at 6:00 p.m. at the Backstreet Blues Jazz Club in Westport Plaza.
Show up, say you read this blog, enjoy two free drinks (we’ve toned it down a bit from 1996), try all the catered eats, and don’t leave without having a piece of the best German Chocolate cake in the world.
Help us celebrate. Not Apartment Search’s 23 years, but our salute to the entire apartment industry throughout St. Louis. If you’ve ever rented, or tried to help a friend, or knew someone struggling to get settled in St. Louis, you will join us to give them a one-night, heartfelt round of applause.
