An online survey conducted by REA of 6700 Australian renters in December 2020 shed light on the current rental landscape in Australia. Its findings are important for property managers as it is only when you understand who your renters are, what they value most and what concerns them most that you can develop a meaningful relationship with them.
As at December 2020, there were more 2 million Aussies intending to rent. It is likely to be more at present due to the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 and the impact that has on people’s ability to pay a mortgage.
They predominantly fall into two categories: the 18 – 29-year-olds and the over 30s. The majority (67%) currently reside in shared rental accommodation, 31% expect to buy a property within the next year and 36% have children living with them. The balance between males and females is virtually equal for the 18 – 29-year-olds but swings more towards males in the over 30s.
Interestingly, it seems the great Australian dream of home ownership is waning for many, with 44% saying they cannot afford to buy a house they would be happy to live in. In fact, more than 1 in 4 said renting is not a step towards owning a property and that they choose to rent because they don’t want the stress of having a mortgage and worrying about interest rates. They also feel they can live where they want to by renting rather than sacrificing the location they love for a home they could afford to purchase in a location they don’t like.
There are many factors motivating people to rent, the two most dominant being: leaving their current rental (43%) and a life stage event such as moving out of the family home or moving in with a partner (41%).
Click here to read the full report.
8% of tenants leaving an existing rental cited maintenance as the reason
Of particular concern for property managers is the fact that 8% of those leaving their existing rental property and looking to rent elsewhere said they felt compelled to do so because they experienced issues with the landlord concerning maintenance of the property. Given the renting landscape is changing with more people choosing to rent for lifestyle reasons and having no intention to ever purchase a home, this percentage should be taken very seriously by property managers. After all, one of the primary roles of every property manager is to keep good tenants happy and keeping the money rolling in to reduce vacancy periods.
One of the ways to keep everyone happy is to be on top of maintenance. It goes without saying why this will keep a tenant happy, but what’s in it for the landlord, especially those unwilling to spend money on the property unless it’s absolutely critical? Here are the main benefits that every landlord should know:
- Preventing their tenant from leaving due to a lack of care and action on their maintenance requests, which results in a loss of income.
- Risk minimisation in case a maintenance issue becomes a safety concern, such as a slip and trip hazard due to external mould or a stairway or deck problem worsening and causing injury to a tenant.
- Improved capital gain due to the property being maintained in excellent condition, minimising wear and tear.
Maintenance made easy
By using smart cloud-based property management software like Maintenance Manager, communication between you, the tenant, the owner and trades can be monitored and managed from the one place. This means calls and emails are minimised because everyone knows what is happening when, who is responsible for what and when tasks have been completed.
Here are just a few of the benefits Maintenance Manager delivers to improve your customer service to both landlords and tenants, while saving you time:
- Consolidated KPI tracking capability for the property management team and trade suppliers.
- A prioritised, colour-coded workflow menu displayed on the dashboard to make finding, interpreting, prioritising and managing jobs in the system quicker and easier.
- Enhanced call to actions so you know who to follow up to add the personal touch while progressing jobs.
- Top five jobs displayed at all times.
- A tenant portal with triage capability.
- The ability to quickly and easily create a new maintenance request.
- Seamless connectivity with all the main trust accounting platforms.
Maintenance Manager is the industry’s number one way to stay on top of property maintenance with ease. It’s your sure-fire way of ensuring your tenants don’t fall into the 8% who leave because their maintenance issues are being ignored. Contact us for an obligation free COVID-safe demonstration of Maintenance Manager today.