According to the
Star Tribune, GVA Marquette Advisors calculated a 7.3% vacancy rate for rental housing for the end of 2009. There are several factors that could be influencing this high vacancy rate: The federal first-time home buyers credit, decreased home prices and the poor economy resulting in people "doubling up" or moving back in with parents. Unfortunately, as we look at the data, we don't anticipate a drastic improvement in the vacancy rate in 2010.
So if you are a landlord, what can you do?
- If your current tenants want to move out when their lease is up, attempt to renegotiate a cheaper rent with them. It can cost $500+ to turn an apartment over, not including lost rent due a unit sitting empty. It's cheaper to keep an existing tenant than it is to find a new one.
- Offer special deals to new tenants such as free parking spots or a free months rent.
- Create an incentive program that gives discounts to tenants who refer a friend to rent from you.
- Check around to find out what other similar apartments are going for, if your unit is too high, it will not get rented.
- Be extremely responsive when maintenance issues arise. Tenants really appreciate a landlord who fixes things quickly and are sometimes willing to stay in a unit if the landlord is good.
- Find simple ways to show you care about your tenants -- write a hand written note thanking them for being a great tenant, send them a card or small gift on their birthday, have a pizza party for your residents, say good things about them on your Twitter or Facebook pages, give out free balloons to kids or create a message board where people can post times they've seen their neighbors doing something good.
- Remember: Creativity doesn't have to cost a lot of money, but it does take a little bit of effort.
- Finally, if you do have a vacancy, remember to list it for FREE with HousingLink!!!!
These are just a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. What are you doing to help keep vacancies low? Let us know.