Finding an apartment
Where is the best place to look for an apartment?
Updated By the Housing Rocket moderators
Short answer
Use two or three sources at once rather than one. Big listing sites cover apartment complexes and professionally managed buildings, local Facebook housing groups carry rooms, sublets and private landlords that never reach those sites, and walking or driving the area turns up small buildings that only post a sign.
Each source leans toward a different kind of rental, so the right mix depends on what you want.
- Listing sites and apps: best for complexes and managed buildings, with filters, floor plans and prices. Weaker on rooms and small landlords.
- Facebook housing groups: strong for rooms, sublets, roommate searches and owners renting one or two units. You can also ask the group questions about an area.
- Property management company websites: many managers list every vacancy on their own site first.
- Signs and word of mouth: older neighborhoods are full of duplexes and small buildings whose owners put a sign in the window and tell their current tenants.
- Your network: coworkers, classmates and friends often hear about a unit before it is advertised.
Set up saved searches or notifications on each source so you see new posts the day they go up. In a tight market the good places are gone in days, and checking once a week is not enough. You can find city, college and community groups on the groups page.
Want the whole picture? Read How to Find an Apartment in Facebook Housing Groups.