The month of January might not seem like a particularly significant month of the year in the property market as listings are quiet over the start of the New Year. But for landlords, the month should be of some importance – it should be the month their leases come up for renewal.
The month of January, particularly later January, is one of the busiest periods of the year for Property Managers as people come back from holidays and look forward to the opportunities in the year ahead.
There’s also the general sense of new beginnings at this time of the year that can bring people to the rental market as some tenants begin new employment and relocate to be closer to their workplace. Or students (young and mature age) embarking on studies moving closer to Universities and TAFEs.
For landlords, this is the best time to bring their investment property to the market because they can take advantage of the increased number of applicants looking for rental properties.
“The 6th of January was our first day of Open for Inspections this year and the jump in activity in a relatively short space of time was amazing,” said Melbourne Senior Property Manager, Ivonne Di Perna.
“From a total of 5 opens we had in excess of 150 parties through even though the barometer hit 43 degrees, the heat did not deter renters heading out to hunt in droves.”
“The most popular was a property located in Pilgrim St, Seddon – 3 bed, 2 bath (no OSP) which commanded $525 pw, an increase of $45 per week on the previous tenancy…. the property had a total of 50 groups through!”
“We expect the healthy demand will continue on until around Easter time,” said Di Perna.
With more competition comes far more choice for landlords to secure quality tenants for their investments. They really are spoiled for choice.
But if landlords don’t align their leases for renewal by this time they will risk of missing out on the massive increase in applicants.
“We will align our leases so that they commence or will come up for renewal around the January period,” said Adelaide State Manager, Katherine Skinner
“This can make the lease periods a little longer. Instead of 13 months, they become 14, 15, or 16 months. But it does mean that if the tenant leaves at the end of the lease, the landlord will have a much greater choice of applicants.”
Planning for the optimum time to bring an investment to the rental market can begin with negotiating the settlement period.
“Properties purchased in the spring market should align their settlement periods to coincide with the peak time in the rental market”, according to Queensland Senior Property Manager, Tracey Farrell. “Our Buyers Agents in our business are aware of this trend so are always looking to give our investors sound advice and align their settlements to take advantage of this larger pool of waiting tenants.”
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