If you’ve spent any time reading property news recently, you’ll have seen plenty of headlines about a changing rental market.
More competition. Longer void periods. Increased supply. Falling occupancy rates.
But the reality is far more interesting than that.
According to recent occupancy data shared by Vann Vogstad, CEO of property management platform COHO, the UK rental market has fractured into a series of local micro-markets. Whilst some areas continue to achieve occupancy rates of around 94%, others have seen significant declines over the past year.
You can read his LinkedIn post here
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7470404601616154624/
The key takeaway?
Success is no longer determined by the market alone.
It’s determined by how quickly landlords and letting agents adapt.
The Difference Between Average and Exceptional
One of the most interesting findings from the data was that specialist operators are consistently outperforming their local markets by more than 5%.
In other words, two properties in the same town can achieve very different results depending on how they are managed, marketed and maintained.
The report specifically highlighted LEA Property Solutions as an example of a specialist operator outperforming the local market in Ipswich.
For us, this reinforces something we have believed for many years: occupancy isn’t about luck.
It’s about getting the fundamentals right, consistently.
What Makes the Difference?
Every landlord has access to the same local tenant pool. The difference lies in how effectively properties are presented and managed.
At LEA Property Solutions, we focus on the areas that have the greatest impact on occupancy:
Professional Marketing
First impressions matter.
High-quality photography and videography, detailed property descriptions and effective advertising ensure that available rooms and properties attract attention from the right tenants. The Majority of prospective tenants want to be presented with a ready made home. We create that for them in the staged photos and videos that we present them with.
Speed of Response
Today’s tenants expect quick if not immediate answers.
Delays in responding to enquiries can mean losing applicants to competing properties. Our systems and processes are designed to ensure enquiries are handled extremely promptly and professionally.
Tenant Experience
Happy tenants stay longer.
From our COHO tenant app and online reporting systems to our weekly cleaners and HelpMeFix 24-7 maintenance service, we work hard to provide a positive tenant experience that encourages long-term tenancies.
Property Standards
Properties that are clean, well-maintained and presented to a consistently high standard attract better applicants and achieve stronger occupancy levels. If tenants contact us with concerns for cleanliness and tidiness standards then we intervene, simple. Ignoring tenant concerns = unhappy tenants who give notice to leave.
Continuous Adaptation
The market changes constantly.
Successful operators don’t wait for problems to appear before reacting. We continuously review pricing, marketing performance, enquiry levels and tenant feedback to ensure our landlords remain competitive.
The Bottom Line
The rental market is changing, but stronger results are still being achieved by us.
The landlords who continue to perform well are not necessarily the ones with the newest properties or the lowest rents. They are the ones working with operators who understand their local market, adapt quickly and focus relentlessly on delivering a great tenant experience.
At LEA Property Solutions, that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for more than 21 years.
If you’d like to discuss how we can help maximise occupancy and reduce void periods across your portfolio, we’d love to hear from you.