John McCain Secures Twenty-Three Percent of Renters' Votes; National Economy Listed as Top Concern CHICAGO, Oct. 28
CHICAGO, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The increasing number of housing
foreclosures seen across the nation have turned more homeowners toward the
rental market. In fact, the percentage of renters has increased to 32.2
percent from 30.9 percent while homeownership fell to 67.8 percent this year
from 69.1 percent in 2005.(1) This represents the sharpest decline in
homeownership in 20 years and the highest number of renters since 2002, when
President George W. Bush started a campaign to expand homeownership.(2)
In response to this ongoing surge of renters, Apartments.com conducted a
national survey for the renter point-of-view on the upcoming presidential
election.(3) One week away from casting their ballots, renters surveyed
revealed that nearly 60 percent are backing Barack Obama for president and the
top issue on their minds is the national economy. John McCain received 23
percent of renters' votes followed by 9 percent who preferred not to answer
the question and 6 percent who are undecided.
Sixty-nine percent of renters surveyed consider themselves to be tuned
into current national and worldwide events and issues followed by 28 percent
who said they are "somewhat" familiar. While many renters believe U.S. health
care, national security and the environment to be major issues facing the
nation, the U.S. economy topped the list when asked to select from a list of
multiple issues. An overwhelming majority of 90 percent of renters surveyed
placed the national economy as the most important issue among their top three
followed by health care at 59 percent and the Iraq War at 53 percent. Other
issues significant to renters are the environment and alternative fuel and
energy options at 45 percent, education at 29 percent and rights for women and
gays at 17 percent.
Renters vote in presidential elections. Forty percent of the renters
surveyed consider themselves "very" politically active and 22 percent who do
not would like to become more active. This is no exception when it comes to
the presidential election. Even 32 percent of renters who do not consider
themselves to be "very" active in politics vote in presidential elections.
This becomes even more apparent as 96 percent of renters said they are
registered voters and 98 percent of those registered will vote in the
presidential election on November 4, 2008. Sixty-five percent of voters are
planning to vote within their political party while 9 percent will vote
outside and 7 percent are undecided.
Renters who need to know where to cast their ballet for the presidential
election on November 4, 2008 can find their polling place by visiting
http://tinyurl.com/6362ee and entering their home address and zip code.
As part of its monthly "What Renters Want" research series, Apartments.com
surveys renters on various topics. For more information on this survey about
the upcoming presidential election or to receive a copy of additional survey
results, please contact Tammy Kotula at tkotula@apartments.com.
Sources:
1 -- U.S. Census data through the end of March, 2008
2 -- Rise in the Number of Renters Erases a Decade's Gain in Home
Ownership, The New York Times, June 21, 2008
3 -- Methodology: The Apartments.com "What Renters Want" survey was
conducted by email and answered by 1,110 apartment renters within the
United States between Tuesday, October 21 to Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008
About Apartments.com
Apartments.com is the most visited national apartment Internet listing
subscription service with more than 50,000 unique addresses representing more
than three million rental units from managed properties, newspaper classifieds
and for-rent-by-owner properties. With personalized searches, highly visual
ads featuring Walk Through Video, Apartments.com Anywhere mobile solutions,
360-degree virtual tours, professional photography, and comprehensive
community listings, Apartments.com makes it possible for renters to access
apartment rental inventory from across town or across the country. Leads from
highly qualified ready-to-rent prospects are delivered to Apartments.com
customers, increasing closure rates and decreasing the average cost of leasing
an apartment. The Web site's foundation of solid partnerships with the local
newspaper and television station Web sites of more than 10,000 newspaper
affiliate and strategic partners across the country include Yahoo! Real
Estate, AOL Real Estate, Univision (http://www.univision.com), the Chicago
Tribune (http://www.chicagotribune.com), The Washington Post
(www.washingtonpost.com) and the Los Angeles Times (http://www.latimes.com).
Apartments.com is a division of Chicago-based Classified Ventures, LLC.
SOURCE Apartments.com
