still no tenant after 1 month...what to do

[spiro077]

I have a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, no parking, apartment in Broadway in Sydney that is still empty after 1 month. It is an older type apartment, perhaps about 25 years, close to Uni, shopping centre

Until the end of October it had been leased for $475. After tenant vacated, it was immediately advertised for $500, but after 2 weeks and no suitable applicant, rent was reduced to $475. After 1 week and still no suitable applicant, agent advised to reduce further to $450.

Given that we are now into the first week of December, I?m wondering if I should take it off the rental market and re-advertise in mid January, perhaps at $475 again. Or with so many new high rise developments going up around Broadway, Ultimo, Chippendale, should I just accept the reality of much stiffer competition and reduce rent even further.

 

[cadence]

Drop the price

It's all about the price in my experience

 

[sanj]

What woupd you gain by taking it off the market for 6 weeks?

What has been the feedback from your agent?

What do you think the rent should be based on your research of comparables?

 

[kathryn d]

I have a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, no parking, apartment in Broadway in Sydney that is still empty after 1 month. It is an older type apartment, perhaps about 25 years, close to Uni, shopping centre

Until the end of October it had been leased for $475. After tenant vacated, it was immediately advertised for $500, but after 2 weeks and no suitable applicant, rent was reduced to $475. After 1 week and still no suitable applicant, agent advised to reduce further to $450.

Given that we are now into the first week of December, I?m wondering if I should take it off the rental market and re-advertise in mid January, perhaps at $475 again. Or with so many new high rise developments going up around Broadway, Ultimo, Chippendale, should I just accept the reality of much stiffer competition and reduce rent even further.

Pretend you are an applicant..and call about the apartment.
This may tell you if your applicants are having a difficult time arranging to view...and your problem is the PM

 

[Scott No Mates]

What is the pm's feedback? Does it require a freshen up? ie repainting, carpet, lighting, deep cleaning, tapware replacement/washers etc?

Is there anything you can do to make it more appealing?

 

[DaveM]

As its in broadway is your target uni students? With end of year there is likely a glut of vacant properties from students moving back home

 

[depreciator]

Yep, there would be a lot of flats becoming vacant around there at this time of year.
$450pw (let alone $475) seems a lot for an older 1 bedder in a soft market. Have you done a search to see how many others are available and what prices they are asking?

 

[fokas]

Post the link to the ad for us to give feedback on.

 

[MightyWill]

That new Central Park complex may play a role in why you are not getting a tenant. Can they get the same deal in the new complex for this price? Anyone would choose the Central park over a 25 year old 1 bed even if they have to folk out an few extra bucks a week and don't forget to consider the hype that Uni students are talking to each other about around room sharing for the new luxury apartments in Central Park.

 

[depreciator]

Yes, that Central Park development is massive - and fabulous. Across the road from UTS and a ten minute walk to Sydney uni. There would be lots of tenants in Chippendale and Broadway thinking about moving in there.

 

[MightyWill]

They should of called it Uni Park. Suck a waste in design and quality only to have it ruined by Uni students. Even if I could afford to buy and live there, I wouldn't due to the number of students just left, right and centre. I would not feel part of any community.

 

[DaveM]

According to re.com.au theres not a single listing for rent in Broadway?

 

[depreciator]

According to re.com.au theres not a single listing for rent in Broadway?

That's going to make it hard for potential tenants to find it. Boy, there are heaps to rent in Chippendale.

 

[spiro077]

it's listed under Glebe, because technically i guess it's in Glebe

sorry, still in the habit of calling it Broadway because it's close to Broadway shopping centre

 

[DEC]

Drop the price

It's all about the price in my experience

I had a place that was vacant for over a month and the PM kept telling me it was the market and it was a bad time of year and every other excuse under the sun.
I contacted them daily for updates and they kept asking me for instructions on what to do as no one was interested no matter what the price.
I demanded the PM do their job, that is what I paid them for, find out how other agencies are moving stock and try doing the same.
The next day they terminated our agreement of several years with them and they lost several properties.

A few hours later I had agreements signed with another agency (yes, I had been planning on getting rid of them for a while anyway) and a few days later I had a tenant in place for the same price.
It was funny how the old agency handled things from then on, quite bitter about it all and holding up proceedings.
I suspect they thought I would come grovelling back.

So no, its not always about price, sometimes PM's drop the ball in a big way.

 

[spiro077]

thanks everyone for responding

@kathryn d: thanks for the tip, I’ll do as suggested

@scott no mates: i’ve listened to PM’s feedback and have had all recommended repairs done, including a repaint which i initially baulked at.

@dave m: my target is not necessarily uni students though previous tenant was one. In fact the building has a mix of students, professionals, owner occupiers and the odd scientologist - some of the residents have been there for quite a while. There are 50 units in whole building and mine was my PPOR for a few years. Ideally I’d like to lease to non-students - the apartment is quite close to Glebe Point Rd cafes/restaurants/small bars and am hoping this would appeal to young professionals. Am also expecting that there are more than just a few who feel the same way as MightyWill and prefer to avoid student ghettos no matter how shiny and new

@MightyWill, @depreciator: according to my PM he manages another unit, a couple of doors down from mine, that was recently leased for $500. It is also 1 br/1 bath but has a car space and is slightly larger. It was originally advertised at $530 and came on the market around the same time as mine. I couldn’t find many sub $500 units for rent in Central Park, although there are definitely plenty in other parts of Chippendale. I think mine’s comparable to the non Central Park units and assumed that it would come down to whether you wanted to live in Chippendale or Glebe. However if it’s starting to look like Chippendale might be the more trendy address, will probably have to compete more aggressively on price. I thought that this would be the kind of local knowledge that my PM would have, but i’m beginning to suspect that he’s learning the market as he goes.

@Dec: thanks for sharing your experience. Not sure how much pressure I can put on the PM at the moment since it is getting close to holiday season. If nothing happens by end of January i’ll definitely consider switching.

 

[depreciator]

Ideally I?d like to lease to non-students - the apartment is quite close to Glebe Point Rd cafes/restaurants/small bars and am hoping this would appeal to young professionals. Am also expecting that there are more than just a few who feel the same way as MightyWill and prefer to avoid student ghettos no matter how shiny and new

Putting aside the Scientologists, I would rather live in Glebe than Central Park.
I'm a fan of smaller communities, and CP is a huge one. I wonder whether you make that point in the ad?

'Do you want to live in a student ghetto, or in a mixed community? Glebe is still very much like it was 30 years ago. There are local bars and cafes, small scale developments, the famous Glebe Markets on Saturdays, Sydney Uni and Victoria Park pool across the road.....'

 

[fokas]

Where's the link?

I personally would prefer to live in Central Park than Glebe - the traffic in/out of it for peak hour is a nightmare!

 

[Xenia IM]

Apartments are slower than houses.
Reduce rent and ensure the listing is on page 1 of realestate.com and domin.com.au.

Do a feature listing if agents subscription allows it.

 

[Big Will]

What are comparable properties renting for?

But usually it will come down to price, other units are perceived as better value.

My parents had a unit that was being rented and the tenant ran away. They are trying to find a tenant to replace but with all the new units finished being developed it is making it a bit harder so they are going less than what they were getting before. Once the over supply finishes they will be able to increase the rent again.