Mid-America Apartment Communities Launches Mobile-Friendly Websites

Sites offer real time availability, door-to-door directions, photos and more

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Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.

Aug 09, 2010, 11:21 ET

MEMPHIS, Tenn., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE: MAA) has launched mobile-friendly websites to make apartment hunting easier and more convenient.

Each of the company's 150 apartment communities now has a customized website that is compatible with most smartphones. The sites allow potential renters to check apartment availability in real time, view photos and get door-to-door directions to any community using GPS technology.

"Our new mobile sites offer renters a more localized approach to finding an apartment by providing a unique mobile site for each of our apartment communities," said Melintha Ogle, Vice President and Director of Marketing for MAA. "The mobile sites provide potential renters with optimal search features, which will make the apartment search much more convenient and easier to navigate."

To provide renters with the most cohesive mobile apartment search available, MAA partnered with VaultWare, the leading mobile availability and reservation system in the apartment industry.

"Apartment hunters want full functionality as well as a customized experience for their specific mobile device," says Mike Cornell, Chief Operating Officer for VaultWare. "With access to current pricing and availability literally at their fingertips, they can easily start the leasing process by reserving and pre-qualifying right from their smartphone."

The mobile sites are supported by most mobile platforms including iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Palm Pre and Windows Mobile. U.S. mobile web usage grew 110% in 2009 and is expected to grow exponentially in 2010.

"We realize our customers consistently rely more heavily on mobile technology to access information," Ogle said. "As mobile web use increases, we will continue to be at the forefront of mobile technology advances to make the apartment search process as convenient as possible."

About Mid-America Apartment Communities

MAA is a self-administered, self-managed apartment-only real estate investment trust, which currently owns or has ownership interest in 44,462 apartment units throughout the Sunbelt region of the U.S. For further details, please refer to the MAA website at www.maac.net or contact Investor Relations at [email protected] or by mail at 6584 Poplar Ave., Memphis, TN 38138.

Certain matters in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27-A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements made about anticipated growth in mobile web usage and our ability to invest in and implement technology advances. Actual results and the timing of certain events could differ materially from those projected in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including a downturn in general economic conditions or the capital markets, competitive factors including overbuilding or other supply/demand imbalances in some or all of our markets, changes in interest rates and other items that are difficult to control, as well as the other general risks inherent in the apartment and real estate businesses. Reference is hereby made to the filings of Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc., with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, reports on Form 8-K, and its annual report on Form 10-K, particularly including the risk factors contained in the latter filing.

SOURCE Mid-America Apartment Communities, Inc.