The ultimate guide to leasing property in a slow market

Article by Silvia Liu Marketing Specialist 23 May 2019

According to SQM Research, the national residential rental vacancy rates increased to 2.3% in April from 2.1% in March. This brings the total number of vacant rental listings to 77,664 Australia-wide, which reflects a rise of just under 10,000 dwellings over the last 12 months.

This surge in vacant rental stock means that it will be increasingly difficult to cut through the noise to generate leads and move properties. To help you out, we’ve created the ultimate guide to leasing property in a slow market:

1. Invest in home staging

Home staging is the practice of styling and furnishing a property to enhance its appeal to potential buyers and renters. Not only can it transform a vacant listing and highlight the property’s unique selling points, but it can also increase the perceived value of the property and reduce time on market.

Consider the below images of the same property: which image appeals to you more?

Credit: boxbrownie.com

The image on the left looks vacant and sterile while the image on the right looks warm and inviting. Rather than showcasing an empty room, the image on the right showcases the potential of the space and portrays a desirable lifestyle.

Just getting started with home staging? Here are 20 Simple Home Staging Ideas On a Budget.

2. Write irresistible real estate copy

Whether you’re writing a real estate ad or property listing description, it’s important that you think about who your target market is and what features and amenities appeal to them.

For example, a family with young children might be looking for a larger property in a quiet neighbourhood with local parks, playgrounds and school catchments whereas a professional couple might be looking for a smaller property in a lively neighbourhood with lots of restaurants and proximity to public transport.

Credit: domain.com.au

You can conduct demographic and neighbourhood research using the suburb profile tools on domain.com.au and realestate.com.au to better inform your real estate copy. Be sure to incorporate desirable features and amenities as well as descriptive keywords in your copy to paint a picture of the lifestyle that they could lead if they lived in the property.

Here are some examples of desirable features and amenities:

• Air conditioning
• Close to public transport
• Walking distance to shops
• Hardwood floors
• Stainless steel appliances
• High ceilings
• City views

Here are some examples of descriptive keywords:

• Beautiful
• Low maintenance
• Brand new
• Spacious
• Stunning
• Luxurious
• Newly renovated
• Impeccable

Read more on How to Write Irresistible Real Estate Copy.

3. Retain great tenants

Retaining great tenants is far less costly than finding new ones. That’s why it’s important that you continually foster the relationship and put measures in place to ensure that they stay.

You can kickstart the relationship on a positive note by leaving your tenants a welcome basket, responding in a timely manner to tenant requests, using a rewards system to encourage timely rent payments and offering an incentive for renewal if your tenants are on the fence.

Additionally, 84% of consumers believe word of mouth recommendations from friends and family, making it the most valuable form of marketing. This means that the more satisfied your current tenants are, the better your reputation as a property manager and the more potential tenants you’ll attract.

Read more on How to Retain Great Tenants and 5 Top Tips To Make Your Tenants Feel At Home.

4. Invest in real estate photography

According to the Wall Street Journal, listings with no images have about 2 seconds to capture the attention of potential tenants while those with one image have a full 20 seconds. If you have three images, you have a whole minute to create visual interest and entice tenants to enquire!

If you’re taking your own real estate photos, be sure to use a quality DSLR or compact camera, a sturdy tripod, an external flash and a wide angle lens. Additionally, you should prepare the property before the shoot, take interior photos from head or shoulder height to ensure realistic results, open up windows and doors to create a more spacious feel and take multiple shots on a tripod to create the perfect shot.

Read more about How to Take Great Real Estate Photos.

5. Create a unique open house experience

Besides making your listing stand out, it’s crucial that you create an open house experience that is both positive and memorable to cut through the noise.

Start by planning your open house two or three weeks before the big day. The budget and theme of your open house should be determined by the rental property and target demographic. For example, you wouldn’t throw an expensive and luxurious open house for a two-bedroom home in the suburbs. Instead, try partnering with local cafes and bakeries to provide refreshments, host a pop-up with local vendors, artists or musicians or run a competition to add an element of fun.

On the day of your open house, make sure there are open house signs around the neighbourhood so that the property is easy to find. Additionally, have one of your employees greet prospects at the front door to attract the attention of passers-by and establish the relationship from the get-go.

Here are our Top 10 Open House Tips for Real Estate Agents.

6. Double down on marketing

Another way to lease property in a slow market is to double down on your real estate marketing efforts. This might mean increasing your spend on Google, Facebook or Instagram ads to broaden your reach, upgrading your listing advertising option to appear at the top of search results, creating blog content to drive traffic to your website or hosting community events to increase your brand awareness, just to name a few.

Read more on How to Grow Your Property Management Business Using Google and How To Grow Your Property Management Business Using Facebook.

All in all…

Here’s the ultimate guide to leasing property in a slow market:

1. Invest in home staging

2. Write irresistible real estate copy

3. Retain great tenants

4. Invest in real estate photography

5. Create a unique open house experience

6. Double down on marketing

Thanks for reading this blog on how to lease property in a slow market! Hopefully it helped you cut through the noise to generate leads.

You might also be interested in How Virtual Reality is Transforming the Real Estate Industry, 2019/20 Real Estate Conference Calendar Australia and How To Help Your Landlords Boost Their Rental Yield.

Did we miss anything in The Ultimate Guide to Leasing Property in a Slow Market? Please let us know in the comments below.