By Ryan Green and Becky Bower

Assessing how much to charge for your property is a delicate process. Renters are always looking for the best property at the most affordable price, but they oftentimes may not know what that is. Most of the time, a renter’s best option is to judge a property’s price based on comparable properties they have viewed, considering a range of homes against their original rental criteria.

As landlords, it’s apparent that this comparison may not always be fair. Certain factors may cause the renter to revisit their original criteria and bend to a higher rental price. While these three factors may influence the rental price and require a lot of time and energy, they can also be easily used to beat the competition and get renters into the home.

Location

This may seem like the most obvious factor, but it’s one that should be mentioned. The closer your property is to surrounding conveniences, like shopping markets, schools, parks and restaurants, the more reasonable it is to price your property higher than the others. If your property is walking distance to these local resources, especially schools and parks, the more attractive your property will look to potential renters.

Amenities

Amenities always add a little something extra in the eyes of a potential renter. Things like adding new appliances, access to a pool or gym, and even providing onsite laundry facilities can immediately peak interest. However, upgrading your property to attract renters doesn’t have to involve big changes. Simple improvements like repainting areas that need touch ups, planting flowers, or watering the lawn to make it greener can make your property shine over the others, regardless of price.

Market Conditions

It’s important to not only pay attention to local listings but the economic activity in your market. As your area attracts more businesses, and therefore more employment, the housing market rises due to demand. Keeping on top of these changes can help you influence potential renters to move in. Additionally, watching statistics on renter’s trends is a great way to keep up-to-date on how renting has changed on a national scale. According to Multifamily Executive, “millennial renters have increased from 37% in 2010 to 50% today,” and 50% of those millennials are renters. These numbers can not only help you formulate how to attract potential renters now, but also help you plan for the future.

By combining these three factors, deciphering how much you should charge for your property is still tricky, but not impossible. As Liz Boksanski of Rentometer.com stated, “there are many variables that can impact the rent you can charge for your rental unit including: location, building structure, amenities, age of unit, market conditions, etc”, but resources like Rentometer provide rent comparison data that can help you evaluate your property’s rental price. By using these tools, rather than running to the competition, renters undeniably see your property’s rental price as the best price for them.