Do other people here in the US have this experience as well? I was thinking it'd be Facebook marketplace, craigslist, and apartment sites (like apartments.com)
1. It allows for "team search". My friends knew I'm looking, so they tagged me in relevant posts they saw. Can't do it anywhere else (including marketplace by facebook themselves)
2. It allows for group communication with the publisher of the post. One asks - everybody sees.
3. It gives a sense of power to those who seek to rent. Many posts with high prices have comments like "You are crazy", "You are a pig", "whoever pays this much is as sucker". It almost warms the heart, we fight the greedy landlords. It almost make it fun, like a witch hunt.
I’ve only seen posts of apartments for rent in Facebook groups that are aimed at college students. (In the US)
Otherwise, Craigslist is basically king.
So if your apartments target young couples or room mates, facebook is your place. For families we have craiglist-like solutions.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/235368102105
I listed my rental flat a bunch of places before using the group, since I started using it I'd not look elsewhere.