Online Apartment Listings as Social Commerce

In the past couple years whenever I find myself searching for apartments, I always go through a few different websites. Some I use as a default, others out of curiosity. Typically, I do the searches on my computer rather than on my phone because I don’t want to have to download any apps and the websites don’t really look that great in phone browsers. It always feels like it’ll mis-click on a filter or something. It’s always interesting to look through apartments online, but it never really occurred to me that I was effectively trying to shop online for a place to live. The commerce portion of the websites is obvious—I look at rent above anything else (and since I’m stuck on Long Island, one of the most expensive places to live in New York, it’s hard to not flinch at the prices for even the smallest place). It’s weird to think about, that everything can be bought online, from food to cosmetics to places to live. Most apartment hunting websites are either posted by the person renting out the space or may go through a broker, so you may be interacting one on one with your potential new landlord.

 

I have a few opinions on what draws me into certain postings, but they may not be universal. A lot of apartment listings will post very bright, well lit, beautiful pictures of well-furnished rooms and manicured lawns and obscenely blue pools. It’s mostly the chain complexes that do these, and they seem so fake that it loops around to unappealing to me. It’s so clearly staged that I can’t imagine a person living in it. Obviously the best posts show well lit, clean apartments and maybe any outside area involved, but there’s a line where it just feels like being lied to. I also like when they get a clear scale for how large the rooms are and show the kitchen appliances. A lot of apartment postings, I’ve noticed, don’t have stoves or ovens or refrigerators, and every time I see one, I wonder how they expect me to eat.

 

It’s to be expected that apartment postings have some sort of rules or restrictions. No dogs, no smoking, that sort of thing. But on websites that are less explicitly geared towards advertising apartments, such as Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist, sometimes people get weird. It may be a person seeking a roommate or a landlord seeking a tenant, but they will post some vey specific demands at times. Some postings are obvious scams and red flags, such as offering you a free room if you’re a young single woman willing to be a live-in maid or “be in a relationship with” the original poster. When I saw the latter posted once on Craigslist and I almost spat my drink out. Online social commerce will bring out the creeps no matter what, I guess. (And don't worry, I've never contacted these types).