Editor’s note: Today's guest post comes from Nishant Phadnis, Chief Product Officer, Rent. Nishant shares how Rent. provides renters with a cinematic bird's-eye view of communities and their surrounding areas, utilizing Aerial View from Google Maps Platform.
Although searching for a new home is exciting, it can be a challenging process. Making a house into a home is so personal, and paying rent is one of the largest financial obligations many of us have each month. At Rent., we take this very seriously, which is why our mission is to help people find their perfect home. That’s why we simplify the entire renter experience by matching the right renter with the right property, at the right time.
We do that through our RentMarketplace. solution, a network of sites with visits from more than 50 million homeseekers every month. You could say we’re real estate matchmakers: we help hundreds of thousands of rental listings to be seen by people looking for their next place to live. We provide renters all the necessary information to narrow down on what they’re interested in. Location, of course, is always a major consideration.
Understandably, potential tenants want to know what it’s like to live somewhere before making a commitment. What’s nearby? Is it on a busy road? How close is it to my points of interest, like work and daycare? They’re seeking better information about the property and its neighborhood online before having to travel for viewings. At Rent., we’ve been using Google Maps Platform solutions for five years to build our core user experiences on our website and mobile apps. In 2023, we’re taking a step further by implementing Aerial View to help renters find the answers they need online even more quickly and conveniently.
Making it easy to find the right home, no matter where
Renters are busy, just like the rest of us. At Rent., we envision a simplified user experience where answers about rental properties are available in just a few clicks. Immersive experiences can enable this, and that’s what we’re using Aerial View: to give renters a chance to get to know new neighborhoods without requiring an in-person visit with map-based search tools and visualization features.
Being able to visualize what it’s like to be at a place is important for all renters, but this came strongly into focus during the Covid pandemic, when people found it challenging to visit properties in person due to health concerns. That drove the need, and the desire, to get more things done online. Now, we’re seeing more than 50% of renters looking for properties in a new zip code. People are moving to new locations, cities, and states, and in those instances, many don’t have the ability to be there in person before their move-in date. They need as many tools as possible to make the right choice remotely.
Google Maps Platform Aerial View provides photorealistic 3D cinematic views from above landmarks, monuments, and other points of interest, including apartment buildings. Visitors to our network of sites can now launch the Aerial View directly from the gallery on a property’s listing. Since the implementation, we’ve seen that the Aerial View feature is a top five most engaged content on our property detail pages.
Making the right decision in a quick, convenient way
In 2022, we saw macroeconomic factors take a toll on the housing market. Being able to afford to buy a home has become challenging for many, which in turn means that more people are looking to rent instead. But more demand makes the rental space more competitive, and renters need the ability to move faster. If renters look at a different property a couple of weekends at a time, they might all be taken by the time they reach a decision. Having immersive experiences that can answer their questions upfront, online, helps them make better decisions, faster.
The benefits extend to the rental property managers and owners, who end up getting better leads as a result. Since potential tenants can access more information about the property online, they are likely to be genuinely interested in the property by the time they schedule a visit. They can see in advance what stores are nearby, or how busy the front street is, reducing the likelihood of a negative surprise during a tour. This saves everyone time.
Building a better experience for all
Next, we’re working to make the experience of RentMarketplace. visitors as frictionless and delightful as possible. A third of the U.S. population (32%) lives in rental properties. It shouldn’t take them more than a few clicks to find properties that match their criteria and schedule a tour.
We’re very excited to continue building a better experience for renters in 2023. Helping to answer all of their questions online is one of our key priorities, and Aerial View is a key component of that. With the right information, renters can feel more confident in their decision while rental property managers and owners can save time with better-quality leads therefore filling up their spaces faster. Everyone wins.
For more information on Google Maps Platform, visit our website.
