A successful multifamily asset is a fully occupied one. The most straightforward way to maximize a property’s returns is to reduce the vacancy rate. In an ideal world, this would be easy – but in reality, it’s often more difficult than it sounds.
Finding tenants to fill your multifamily vacancies is a common pain point that weighs down on both property owners and leasing agents alike. So much so that reducing vacancies is usually the motivator behind many of the popular multifamily operator trends, such as including coveted amenities, expanding on-site staff, and upgrading the building. While all of these common tactics do boost a property’s curb appeal, are they really the most effective vacancy-reducing solutions?
The team at Rently believes that the quickest way to fill your vacancies – and keep them occupied – is to restructure the leasing process with winning PropTech integrations.
Multifamily Vacancy Rates Projected to Rise
These concerns are reaching a crucial point as experts predict that multifamily vacancy rates will be on the rise. As we progress into 2020 and beyond, nationwide apartment demand is set to slow – with 20% less multifamily prospects on the market this year than there was in 2019.
CBRE, a leading commercial real estate group, has predicted that the overall vacancy rate for multifamily will rise by 20 bps to 4.5% – which is significantly lower than the long-term average of 5.1%. At the same time, rent growth will decrease to approximately 2.4% which is also below the long-term average of 2.6%.
With vacancies on the rise in commercial real estate’s multifamily sector and fewer new prospects hitting the market, vacancy-filling strategies are becoming increasingly important for maintaining a healthy, robust, and profitable multifamily portfolio.
Rently: An Innovative Solution for Low Vacancy Rates
If you’re looking for an industry-leading method of filling multifamily vacancies, look no further than Rently. As the pioneer of self-guided touring and a leading Smart Home hub provider, Rently is designed to streamline the leasing process for both operators and prospects – ultimately resulting in more leases, greater conversion, and fewer vacancies.
Here’s a look at how Rently helps multifamily property owners and leasing agents keep vacancy rates low:
Increase in Tour Volume
When offering self-guided tour options, multifamily communities immensely expand their capacity for property showings.
Prospects don’t need accompanying staff or agents to guide them, which opens up new possibilities. Touring outside of business hours becomes a reality. Your team will have more time to work with lease applicants so conversion happens quicker. With no need to match schedules, interested renters don’t need to wait to tour. The list goes on.
“We first decided to try Rently on a brand-new, 96-unit townhome development, which only had one office staff member and the results were incredible! We were able to lease-up the community ahead of the absorption schedule and on average have seen about 17 self-schedule showings per month. We are also seeing about a 70% conversion rate for prospects that toured through Rently. Needless to say, we are now using Rently at the majority of our communities.” – Echelon Property Group
Touring Made Easy
For both management and prospects, the headaches of touring become nullified with Rently’s adaptive system. With Rently, touring vacant units in your community becomes more accessible. The power goes into the prospect’s hands, meaning they can schedule walk throughs on their own schedules – no matter how obscure.
“Within the first month of implementing Rently, we secured three new lease applications from prospects that self-toured themselves outside of business hours (i.e. between 6 PM and 8 PM). Without this flexibility for prospects, it is likely that we would not have seen these leases otherwise”, – Origin Partners.
Tour Multiple Units Simultaneously
With Rently, users can tour as many available units in a property as they’d like. Rently makes it quick and easy to tour multiple properties in one visit, unlike traditional systems that require scheduling well in advance. Once prospects are in your community, they can explore unit after unit – which will undoubtedly increase the likelihood of landing a new tenant.
“Rently.com allowed us to walk through multiple houses at our own pace without worrying about an agent’s schedule (or sales pitch),” -Tiffany, a prospect using Rently’s self-tour.
Go Smart
Don’t forget about Rently Keyless!
Going beyond the self-tour, Rently Enterprise Smart Home facilitates a truly Smart experience for management, touring, and living alike. Top of the line Smart home technology provides full control that’s all powered by Rently’s easy to use app. Access, monitoring, damage prevention, energy management, and more are all included in the Keyless bundle.
The bottom line is that Rently’s self-guided tour delights and attracts prospects while Smart Home integrations with Rently Keyless provides a seamless tech-powered lifestyle for tenants.
To learn more about how Rently can improve your property’s leasing process, visit our website. Ready to get started now? Click here to request your free demo!
