"Real Life" Market Reports Target Average Renters

A.C. Lawrence & Company is betting that apartment hunters are keen to get their hands on more straightforward information faster in their pursuit of a New York apartment—especially in the current market, when rental vacancy rates are so low and prices continue to climb. So the company is now publishing "The 'Real Life' Rental Report," which focuses on the most commonly sized and priced apartments and comes out once a month during the peak apartment hunting season. One adjustment made to the report that makes it more relevant to average renters is the exclusion of any properties that cost more than $7,500/month to rent when calculating averages. The purpose of the report is to help renters find an apartment, which tends to be a unique event that happens relatively infrequently, rather than engage in market analysis that concerns a long time period.