Consumer site Rentenna, now AddressReport, woos brokers

The site formerly known as Rentenna — the consumer portal for locating New York City rental apartments — next week will unroll an expanded product set to provide house hunters with buildings’ sales information, as well as tools for realtors, The Real Deal has learned. Now dubbed AddressReport, the site’s revamp is in response to users running searches for condominium and co-op properties.

“The product shifted based on needs and based on the people who were coming,” said website co-founder Alicia Schwartz.

Similar to Rentenna, which allowed renters to search for building complaints and violations — and even nearby food delivery options – site visitors will be able to search for specific buildings for information about a property, both inside and out. They can see whether a building has elevators, its unit count and eventually a list of ACRIS data showing unit sales prices, among other things. They also have access to a list of crimes reported in the area, the closest subway stations and the number of rat sightings near the building. There will even be more specific information on building elevators — notably the wait and travel times, in seconds, during morning and afternoon peaks.

Rental information, such as listing history, will still be available.

Realtors, through special accounts on the site, will be able to create “AddressReports,” or compilations of info that they can send to their clients before bringing them to a viewing at a building. Realtors will also have access to historical pricing data and can also create profiles to connect with clients. Some brokers have already been able to access these site features through a small pilot program.

“[It’s] an easy way to compare buildings for clients who are on the fence on what building to choose,” said Neeta Mulgaokar, a salesperson at Mirador Real Estate in feedback to AddressReport.

Joe Charat, the CEO of NakedApartments — a rental listings portal — says that the city has done a good job with making its public information more available, and this helps real estate websites improve user experience.

“Whether it’s DOB violations, 311 calls, full ACRIS data … there’s a trove of rich, contextual data that wasn’t publicly available a few years ago,” he said.

But a source at a startup familiar with AddressReport’s new features wondered if the site faces a challenge by providing a service to two marketplaces — consumers and their brokers — and if one will eventually take priority.

“I’m curious as to how that plays out,” the source said.