Facebook is getting more serious about the home rental market, teaming up with Rental Beast, a software as a service listings platform that provides millions of rental listings.
The announcement follows a partnership Facebook agreed with Apartment List and Zumper last year that saw it add listings from those sites to its Marketplace.
A spokesperson for Rental Beast said the latest partnership comes at a critical time. Sales inventories are at record lows across the country, and so more and more real estate agents are beginning to double-down on the rental industry instead.
“Homeownership levels have been on a downtrend,” the spokesperson told HousingWire. “Renting is the preferred choice for Millennials and for an aging U.S. population who is opting to downsize from their large homes. Real estate agents across the U.S. have also experienced a 6% drop in their median gross income since 2016. This doesn’t only affect agents, but brokerage firms which struggle with agent recruiting and retention.”
Facebook would reveal little about its end goals, other than to say that it was hoping to help renters with their home searches.
“Home rentals is a popular activity on Facebook. With this home rental experience on Marketplace, we hope to make it even easier for people to find their next home,” a spokesperson for Facebook told HousingWire.
The partnership will certainly mean more options to choose from for those browsing on Facebook’s Marketplace. Rental Beast offers over six million rental listings across the U.S., accounting for what the company says is more than 70 percent of its overall rental inventory.
"We believe our comprehensive database and white glove service through some of the best brokers and agents in the industry, integrated with Facebook Marketplace, will be a game changer for renters," said Rental Beast Founder and President Ishay Grinberg in a statement. "We are pleased to be a listing partner, and excited to help people find their next home."
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