Those real-time notifications definitely make a difference.
When I was searching for apartments in the NYCish area, I asked Zillow to ping my phone when a good listing came in.
One day, I got a ping during class and called the broker as fast as I could. "Yeah," he said, "I posted that listing 20 minutes ago but you're like the 6th caller. You almost certainly won't get it, sorry."
Depends on the type of rental, I guess. If you're looking for long-term rentals (years), the process is probably much similar than if you're looking for seasonal or shorter-term rentals.
When I was searching for apartments in the NYCish area, I asked Zillow to ping my phone when a good listing came in.
One day, I got a ping during class and called the broker as fast as I could. "Yeah," he said, "I posted that listing 20 minutes ago but you're like the 6th caller. You almost certainly won't get it, sorry."