Most landlords advertise their properties online, typically using a site like Rightmove or Zoopla. Some also use social media to attract tenants. Either way, a property listing outlining all the properties features and including photos is the best way to attract a suitable tenant. Unless you are lucky enough to live in an area where there are 10 tenants per available property. In which case, you probably don’t need to put much effort into it at all!
What are Tenants Looking For?
An interesting new survey has revealed that property listings are not necessarily meeting tenants’ expectations. In other words, the things tenants are looking for don’t always show up on a listing, and not all landlords are advertising things tenants want.
For example, 60% of tenants are looking for unfurnished properties, yet only 14% of properties are advertised as unfurnished. 23% of tenants are keen to find a property that is close to local schools, but only 15% of listings mention this.
What Landlords Offer
Conversely, landlords tend to place importance on things that are less important to their tenants. For example, 58% of listings claimed to be close to work locations or local universities, yet only 16% of tenants were interested by this, presumably because they had a car or local transport options were good. 44% of landlords advertised a garden or roof terrace, yet only 22% of tenants had an interest in this as a feature.
The key takeaway from this data is to think carefully about what your tenants are looking for, as you may not be ticking the right boxes in your property listings.