The old maxim says that when new cars are down, used cars are up. And when house sales are down, apartments are up. We’ve heard from some publishers that they are seeing more apartment advertising. But prices have been hurt by “shadow rentals” for houses and condos that don’t move, and boomerang kids moving in with their parents instead of getting their own place. According to Reis, Inc., rents stayed flat or declined in 59 of the 79 markets tracked last quarter.

Meanwhile, the apartment portals are making their moves. Classified Ventures’ Apartments.com announced this week that it is buying Austin-based Apartment Home Living, a lifestyle brand. The two sites will maintain separate identities but will combine their reach.

Apartment Home Living gets 525,000 unique visitors a month, and might be seen as a site for more freewheeling renters than Apartments.com — although they really offer the same types of features. The site says it provides a “live for fun” community experience, proprietary lifestyle matching, and 4,100 local living guides and 1,100 local videos to help renters find “their perfect place to live.”

The site also provides “MyMedia” — a product that helps apartment managers increase their closing and retention rates via personalized e-mails, forms, fliers and videos. A version of “MyMedia” will be available to Apartments.com customers this spring.

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