New York City Landlords, Your Apartments shouldn’t take more than Thirty Days to Rent, so What are you Waiting for?

The ad had been listed on StreetEasy for 140 days, and it featured an incredibly poor effort in terms of marketing. There were pictures looking down at the floor of the living room. Size and light, assets in the space, were completely absent. The photos appeared to be taken with the least amount of effort possible.

A spacious and bright three bedroom apartment in Williamsburg on prime Bedford avenue, the listing agent of the apartment had done a paltry job advertising the space and, because of that, it had sat, so far, for nearly six months.

I called the landlord who owned the apartment, and she allowed me to work on the listing. It rented in one week after I replaced the photos.

In New York City, no rental should ever sit on the market for more than thirty days. Landlords, consider doing a little reflection if your space has been sitting for more than a month.

I believe the main reasons that apartments sit are:

1. The apartment is overpriced. (*Maybe, you, the landlord needs to achieve a certain minimum number for the rent price of the apartment, for a multitude of reasons. Perhaps you can lower the price by offering a concession on the rental price, like a month free).

2. The agent working to rent the apartment is not doing an adequate job. They are not advertising the apartment correctly and/or are not answering every renter inquiry who reaches out to view it.

The New York City rental market moves quickly. The demand for renters greatly outweighs the supply of apartments (another issue, for another post). As long as an apartment is priced appropriately for the current market, and a competent agent is working on the listing, it will rent within 30 days.

A good real estate agent that rents apartments full time can judge from the stream of StreetEasy and Zillow rental inquiries and the interest in which the renters view the apartment with, if the apartment is about to rent. They know when the interest from possible renters is too little and, if the listing is slow, when its time to ask the owner to lower the price.

So if you’re a landlord, and your listings are sitting for thirty plus days, maybe consider who you’re working with. Or if you like the agent you’re working with, consider lowering the price.

Hint hint: need a new real estate agent? Contact me. If you give me a rental, I can guarantee I’ll get it rented within thirty days (as long as its priced correctly). Contact me below or call me.