Imagine this: you’re launching a Class-A apartment community. A prospective renter clicks on an Internet Listing Service (ILS) like Apartments.com, schedules a tour, and signs a lease. Based on last-touch attribution, it looks like the ILS did all the work. “Let’s cancel A, B, and C and pour the budget into ILS!” you think.
But let’s rewind.
What if that renter first saw your construction banner on I-90 two months ago? What if they Googled “new apartments near me” after seeing your display ad? Or spotted your Instagram showcasing dog-friendly green spaces?
Here’s the truth: no one leases after a single touchpoint.
Last-touch attribution credits only the final step, ignoring the many interactions leading up to it. This oversimplification often leads to cutting top and middle-funnel initiatives—key drivers of awareness and interest. Misinterpreting the data can cost you big.
Let’s dig into the real renter journey.
Renting an apartment isn’t an impulse purchase—it’s a thoughtful decision, more akin to leasing a car. Like a $30,000 vehicle (or $40,000 with parking, pet fees, and utilities), the choice involves extensive research and validation.
Take Lexus: no one watches a holiday ad and immediately heads to the dealership. They’ve likely:
- Seen Lexus models on the road
- Ridden in an uber and fell in love with the interior
- Checked safety scores and features
- Noticed the key fobs in stylish friend circles
Renters are no different. A Zillow study shows the average renter engages with 25+ sources over 4-6 weeks before deciding. Touchpoints like signage, ads, reviews, and word-of-mouth all play a role. Relying solely on last-touch data ignores this nuanced journey.
Here’s how renters typically move through the leasing funnel:
- Awareness: They notice signage, search “new apartments near me,” or frequent a nearby café. It’s a seed planted—they’re not ready yet, but you’re on their radar.
- Interest: Curiosity builds. They check floorplans, reviews, and social media, imagining how your property might fit their lifestyle.
- Intent: They start picturing life at your community, mapping commutes, and asking friends about the neighborhood. It’s decision time—they book a tour.
- Leasing: The tour cements their decision. They connect with your leasing team, hear about amenities, and see the space in person. It feels right.
- Repeat: A great move-in experience builds loyalty. Happy renters renew, refer friends, and leave glowing reviews.
Every phase is critical, but last-touch attribution credits only the final step. It’s like giving all the credit for a touchdown to the receiver and ignoring the quarterback and offensive line.
If a renter says, “I found you on Zillow,” should Zillow get all the credit? Not quite. Unless they typed your property's listing URL directly, their journey likely began elsewhere.
Renters often share more revealing insights; all you have to do is ask them. Here are some I recall from back when I was on the front lines of leasing my first high rise:
“I saw your banner on the highway every day, and now that the building looks almost finished, I thought I'd check it out!”
“My partner and I own the cycling studio around the corner and thought this would be convenient with all of the early morning classes.”
“The doctor I matched with recommended it as an easy commute to the hospital and overall cleanliness around the property!”
These stories show how awareness, interest, and intent work together to drive leases. Ignoring the bigger picture risks overinvesting in high-cost channels like ILS while undervaluing tools like signage, digital ads, or word-of-mouth.
To allocate your budget wisely, ditch shortcuts and focus on a strategy that supports every phase of the renter journey:
Awareness: Use vibrant, on-brand signage, ads aimed at your ideal audience, and social media to get noticed.
Stat: 72% of renters discover properties through online searches.
Interest: Nurture curiosity with optimized websites, retargeting campaigns, and positive reviews.
Stat: 60% of renters rely on reviews before making a choice.
Intent: Make it easy to say “yes” with virtual tours and personalized incentives.
Leasing: Provide a seamless application and move-in process to create a great first impression.
Repeat: Keep renters happy with events, strong service, and community-building efforts.
Train and empower your leasing teams to ask better questions:
“So, what’s your story? How did you first hear about us?”
Encourage natural conversations that reveal the full journey—construction banners, happy hours at the pizza spot around the corner, late-night Google searches, Instagram posts, and word-of-mouth. Train your team to document multiple sources rather than just one. Over time, patterns will emerge, showing you which channels are worth your investment—and which aren’t.
There won't be a clear winner. But there will be clear losers. And after at least sixty days of rock-solid reporting, it can be a good time to reassess if that UGC partnership you're paying $800 a TikTok for is worth it.
The truth is, we will never fully capture every touchpoint. Even if we asked, people forget things; they don't realize they found your website because it was sponsored at the top of the SERP or that they had been following the interior designer on Instagram for years.
Here’s the bottom line: Last-touch metrics are just a slice of the story. Renting is a multi-touch decision, and success comes from understanding and supporting the full journey.
Build trust. Stay visible. Show up consistently across channels. That’s how you turn prospects into renters—and renters into lifelong advocates.
Play to win. Study up on the multifamily playbooks maximizing lease-up ROI.
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This week, we're answering the million-dollar question: how much should I invest in marketing my new development for faster ROI?
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