Having worked in the property management industry in Canterbury for over 15 years, I have experienced many different market trends, from high supply and low demand, to high demand and low supply! However the market we are currently experiencing is like nothing I have worked in before, with low supply, but also low demand!
It is difficult to establish exactly what is causing this, and of course there are always exceptions to the rule, but overall it seems that tenants are electing to stay put as opposed to move to a new home, and while we have Kiwis starting to head off overseas, it would seem that due to the immigration rules, we don’t have immigrants coming in and taking up residence in Canterbury.
Reading comments from other property managers throughout New Zealand, we are all experiencing similar issues, with tenants making enquiries, booking viewings and then not turning up! Then those who do are often not applying for the property, or frustratingly applying and then when they are accepted changing their minds and declining the property!
There also seem to be a number of people who seem to turn up to every single viewing you have, but don’t apply for anything – the mind boggles.
So where to from here? Well this is where your reputation and marketing really comes in. What will make your rental property stand out in a competitive market? We use a professional photographer to ensure we can show the property to its best potential, as they say a picture is worth a thousand words. We also add a good description and make it easy for tenants to enquire and book in for a viewing.
Equally important is that tenants want to rent from you. This week alone we have had two phone calls into the office from tenants who are renting through private landlords asking us to manage the property they are renting – that is not the tenants decision of course, but there is a real shift with tenants understanding the value of renting through a good property management company.
While the rent amount is of course always an important factor, we still need to ensure that the property is financially viable for a landlord as if it ends up costing them too much they may have no choice but to exit the rental market and then we end up back in a cycle where we once again have a shortage of properties for tenants to rent!
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