After speaking with other real estate agents, it’s become clear that it’s getting tough to lease property in Perth right now – and all the statistics available make it seem that it won’t be getting any easier any time soon.
To remain profitable and avoid hefty vacancy costs, everyone attempting to lease a property should always be trying to get better and quicker at leasing their rentals. A lot of the new business we've been getting is coming from landlords who are unhappy with their last real estate agent not handling their leasing well or at all, so it is important to be aware that the prime time for landlords to change agencies is when their property is coming up for leasing.
Here are five ways to help you ensure your properties are getting leased quickly for the best price possible.
Thorough rental appraisals
- Look at only the most recent rental data – if the data is more than three weeks old, it’s already outdated.
- Check the markets surrounding the one your property is in. In competitive markets, tenants might not mind the extra couple minutes of driving to the next neighbourhood over to save $10-$20 per week.
- Be aware of what has happened to rents in the area. In most suburbs of Perth, rents have dropped 10 per cent to 15 per cent compared to their last lease. Prepare the owner to expect that.
Get it right quick
- Once you go to market with a rental, have strict targets to meet. If we do not receive an enquiry in three days, we adjust the rental price. We need to have enough tenants to choose from.
- Get feedback from each tenant that comes through, adjust your advert and try to set clear expectations to the market. If your feedback is all negative, again, look to adjust the rent. It's amazing how negatives disappear when the price is right.
Use walk-through videos
- Walk-through videos help you stand out among many other properties for rent and make sure that the tenant you are meeting is more qualified to view the property. If they like what they see in the video, it’s a simple case of quickly confirming it in person. This also reduces the amount of time you will need to keep the property open.
- The videos don’t need to be Hollywood quality – your iPhone’s camera, with a wide-angle lens attachment, will work fine. However, make sure to keep the videos under two minutes, otherwise tenants will tune out.
Paid marketing is a must
- If a property is on the market for more than seven days, use a feature listing so it can still be found. Revising a price won’t help if no one is going to see the property.
Talk cost
- From the day a property becomes vacant, you need to ensure the landlord understands the daily cost of vacancy and that it can be far cheaper to adjust the rent by $20 per week than to hold out a month waiting for a tenant who never comes.
By adhering to these basic strategies, it will help you find quality tenants fast in any kind of market.
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