While most of the U.S. housing market is tumultuous, Seattle is still attracting tons of potential professionals and families who all need places to live. With scores of new Multifamily housing units popping up yearly, attracting high-quality tenants online is a competitive task. Today we're offering several key steps and insights for filling the application pipeline which, if missed, may get your apartment building overlooked.
Every apartment building in Greater Seattle started with a vision, and it's important you start with one too as you look to fill vacancies. That's why step one is:
Understand who you want living in your community
In addition to considering criteria regarding income/credit, pets, and whether or not they're smokers, you'll want to do a deep dive on who you envision living on your property. There's a big difference between youthful and active types who will benefit from community garden or nearby yoga studios and the mid-career professionals who will enjoy quiet evening hours and benefit from lightning-fast internet for working from home. Building out these personas will help you focus in on which things to highlight and what language to use when creating listings.
Once you have this locked down you can move on to...
Wordsmithing a compelling listing
Your potential tenants are on the internet and likely scanning through dozens to hundreds of listings within the area, so if you're an apartment owner in Seattle you'll want to be sure you:
- Use attention-stealing headlines or titles that combine features with geographic information. For example, “Lush Queen Anne living with private patio” or “Modern loft offers sweeping views of captivating Redmond”
- Highlight features and amenities that add value. That heated patio may be the difference between booking a virtual tour and moving right along
- Avoid going into length about basic details. Yes the units should have a bathroom and windows, use that space to go back and focus on what sets them apart. Info like physical address and beds/baths that are included elsewhere in the listing do not bear repeating
- Double check spelling and avoid abbreviations where possible. A single glaring typo can ruin credibility with a potential buyer, especially in a title or section heading. And no, the two-bedroom units aren't “avbl” - they're available
The words you use will plant seeds of vision inside readers minds, but your listing is nothing without high-quality visuals.
Showcasing the space
After clicking on a listing, it is in our nature to immediately gravitate towards the images. They're the first impression of your units and you need to be sure they plant the right seeds in a potential renter's minds.
- Start with a space that is properly cleaned, repaired, staged, and touched-up as needed
- Capture many images to highlight the best parts of each space from multiple angles – renters love to click and swipe through many photos while imagining themselves in the space
- Don't skimp on hiring a professional photographer. A skilled photographer will be able to guide the viewer's eye straight to the best features and use quality lighting to make a space shine with comfort. Getting a high-quality photographer generally makes sense when we consider the lifetime value of a customer (LTV)
Browsing through online listings is as the most common way that tenants decide where to tour - and eventually rent. Our experienced property management team are experts in these listings, apartment marketing, and many more activities that directly impact your bottom line. If you're an apartment building owner who wants to attract great tenants and fill vacancies, get in touch with us today.