.png)
Written by Kylie Hall – Senior Property Manager
Landlords, Property Managers…nobody like a vacant property, even the Taxman! Just a few weeks vacant can cost you thousands of dollars. Technology and innovation play such a key part of our lives, and in Property Management how our tenants find a new home has also changed.
Over the last 10 years, technology has taken over our day to day lives. 10 years ago you were likely operating a phone that’s the only task was to call and send a message. Now our phones do everything from taking a photo to measuring your heartbeat.
Technology certainly has many benefits in helping with the day to day running of our lives and the changes have impacted heavily on how prospective tenants find a rental property.
“You don’t start communities. Communities already exist. The question to ask is how you can help them do that better”. M Zuckerberg
Using Technology & Innovation
Over the last few years, the Empire's Team of Property Management in Perth has been testing different products and innovations within the rental market to provide Owners with the best options in a tough property leasing market. Not only do we have extensive knowledge of market trends from tech and software but we have access to data analytics and reporting on all the important questions to clearly indicate your best options for your property marketing. It allows us as Property Managers to provide researched advice and share with you how to get the best results (low vacancy periods and a well-priced property) for your investment going to market.
Attract or Be Ignored
90% of people across the country said they rated good quality photographs as the most useful tool in their search. Those 90% of people searching for your property have an average attention span of 8 seconds…yes that’s actually less than a Goldfish, so in order to attract them to your home:
Professional Photography: is an absolute must, unless you want a prospective tenant to scroll straight past your property, you have to capture them with an attractive picture that captures the property in the best light
Video / Virtual Tours / Floor Plans: We want as much information as possible at our fingertips and in addition, 70% of home buyers and renters expect virtual tours/video and properties with these features receive 403% more enquiry.
Golden Time
There is a brief window when listing a property for rent that it is considered ‘new’ or ‘just listed. For prospective tenants and even buyers, a new property creates a sense of urgency to see something they haven’t already. Extensive databases ensure a prospective tenant is alerted before a property goes to the wider market, it creates a sense of urgency and competition. It’s essential that as soon as the property is listed its sent directly to prospective tenants who are looking for a property just like yours.
Open Open Open
One other major game-changer in leasing out your property with technology is the innovation of booking a home open time in less than 10 seconds. Booking a time from a multitude of options and getting instant confirmation is now expected.
In leasing, we now ask the tenant when they want to view the property. Old school practices in Property Management always consisted of a day and time given to all prospective tenants who were required to be there within the 15 time bracket scheduled. It worked then because the market was booming! We didn’t need to do much else because it was unheard of that the tenant had a choice! But now we need to hunt our tenants down. We need to give them choices & options and the Inspect Real Estate app has certainly helped us with this.
It works in the following way:
The prospective tenant selects a time based on the Property Managers advised time slot (Eg: 12 noon to 6 pm on various days of the week and weekend)
The prospective tenant books in their preferred day and time
Instant confirmation of day/time is received to their phone/email
On the day of the home open, the prospective tenant is sent a message requesting confirmation of attendance
The prospective tenant from here can either confirm or rebook back in at a preferred time
The advantages of the Inspect Realestate App are really endless! It gives choices & options for a range of different types of prospective tenants and it services them in a way they had not been serviced prior. With the data, we collect from the prospective tenants attending the home opens, it means that if the home they are viewing is not suited then with just a few clicks of a button, they can be emailed current and futures listings going to market within their required criteria.
Location Location Location
And we don’t mean where your property is physically located… it's about where its located digitally. Yes, your property is listed for rent on all the major portals…but is it just one of the many thousand rentals lost in the crowd?
Comprehensive analytics and marketing reports can tell us if your property will lease quickly or not, the number of views, enquiries, engagements, performance versus other similar properties and performance compared to your suburb are just of the analytics we now assess to ensure your property dollars are being well spent and your property gets leased.
A Changing Landscape
The future landscape will always be changing and will see us moving through the world and our future homes through virtual reality. Whilst our love remains in the bricks and mortar of homes, our future requires us to constantly be willing to embrace new technologies and the new possibilities they bring without losing our human connection.
Technology allows our future potential tenants the chance to get in touch with us via a channel and format that suits their lifestyle and one that is convenient and most comfortable for them.
This is just some of the ways Empire is using the latest technology, software and data analytics to help you lease your property!
About the author
Kylie Hall is an award-winning Senior Property Manager at Empire Estate Agents in Victoria Park.
Real Estate Training Group – 2018 Property Manager of the Year
Nominated Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) – 2018 Property Manager of the Year
Kylie is passionate about design and photography and has over 10-years’ experience in property management. As a Property Manager, Kylie loves her career in real estate and developing ways to assist her owners in their property investing journey.
Want more information or can we help you with any other of your Property Management questions? Feel free to call and speak to us Empire Estate Agents to have a chat on (08) 9262 0400
or email reception@empireestateagents.com or www.empireestateagents.com