A neighbourhood matchmaker for rentals

Homes & Housing Published on 31 August 2007 in Homes & Housing

Real estate may be all about location, location, location, as the old saying goes, but most rental apartment listings offer very little information on that critical point. A new apartment search website called Hubbuzz hopes to fill that gap by giving rental-hunters a way to get a better feel for neighbourhoods and communities.

While most apartment listings provide only the most minimal information about available properties, such as square footage, rent and amenities, the free—and ad-free—service from Colorado-based Collective Intuition lets apartment-hunters search not just by basic criteria but also on neighbourhood characteristics. ‘Eclectic,’ ‘trendy,’ ‘hometown vibe’ and ‘kid-friendly’ are among the adjectives users can select for their search, and the results serve up detailed neighbourhood profiles, photo galleries, interactive maps, events calendars and even user-generated neighbourhood blogs.

Apartment managers pay Hubbuzz USD 375 for each rental that is made through the site, and Hubbuzz passes USD 100 of that on to the renter as a reward. The site currently serves Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Colorado Springs and Northern Colorado; Chicago, Phoenix, Orange County and Dallas are soon to be added. Hubbuzz is open to partnering arrangements, and the concept is ripe for application in virtually any urban area. Consumers can zero in on what they want more quickly and accurately, while rental managers get contacted only by more informed (and thus more likely to rent) prospects—it's a win-win for everyone.

Website: www.hubbuzz.com
Contact: info@hubbuzz.com

Spotted by: Stacie Bogan

Comments on this idea:

Great idea. Do they show all apartments, or just the ones that pay $375?

We have an agreement with all properties on our site so that the user always gets paid when they claim through our site. We don't have any properties on our site that aren't under this agreement. Thanks for the question!

what do you charge for short term corporate apartments that only rent for 1 to 3 months?

Post a comment:

Please note that Springwise is not associated with the company / product mentioned in this article.

Your email address will not be published with your comment.

 
 
 

Type the characters you see in the picture above.

 
About Springwise

Springwise and its network of 8,000 spotters scan the globe for smart new business ideas, delivering instant inspiration to entrepreneurial minds.
Time to start the next big thing!

Free newsletter

Don't miss a single
new business idea:
sign up for our
weekly newsletter.

Next issue due
2 December 2009.

You can also subscribe to our RSS feed.

Or follow us on