The PM playbook for rent-roll growth in a tight market

Australia’s rental squeeze is creating a rare rent-roll-growth window for property managers willing to stop acting like rent collectors and start behaving like trusted investment advisers.

According to Domain’s latest Rental Report, the national vacancy rate dropped to a record low 0.7 per cent in the March quarter, while the median cost to rent a house across the combined capital cities rose 4.6 per cent over the past year to $680 per week. 

RISE with Sarah Cincotta director Sarah Cincotta says that despite the tight market, business development managers and property managers can still grow their rent roll with the right strategy.

“It’s definitely a tight market,” she says.

“But tight markets reveal the great BDMs, property managers and businesses.

“There are a lot of great businesses around the country that are still growing right now because they’ve been building really great habits along the way.”

Become an IRS

Cincotta says growing a rent roll starts with property managers changing how they view their role.

“You have to stop acting as ‘just’ a property manager and start acting like an investor relationships specialist,” Cincotta says.

“You need to understand what an investor wants, what their needs are, what their goals are and start really looking at a long-term strategy.

“Landlords need to be able to have a conversation with BDMs and PMs on asset protection, risk mitigation, minimising vacancies and increasing yields.”

Show your value

Cincotta says property managers also need to proactively demonstrate their value through regular communication such as video updates, investor nights and tailored market insights to strengthen relationships and win more referrals.

“If landlords are only hearing from the property manager about maintenance or rent arrears, then we go back to just being task-based,” she says.

Mine your database

Cincotta says many agencies are obsessed with chasing new leads while ignoring the “gold mine” sitting in their database.

She says agencies should re-engage with current and former landlords, tenants, and past appraisal leads rather than relying solely on new prospecting.

“There’s a lot of gold sitting dormant when it comes to current clients and your database,” she says.

Build a referral network

In Melbourne, Spruce Real Estate director Alana Spruce says a key way to grow your rent roll is through referrals from other professionals in the property industry.

“Align yourself with mortgage brokers, financial advisors and create a team or network of people that can refer investors to you,” she says.

As she runs a standalone property management business, Spruce says she doesn’t have the option of tapping into leads from a connected sales department.

But she says property managers can still build strong referral pipelines by creating relationships with sales-only agents who don’t have an internal rent roll.

“If you can align yourself with sales agents that don’t have property management, it can be a huge referral source,” Spruce says.

Working closely with buyers’ agents can also generate warm leads, she says.

Be prepared for growth

Little Bird Properties director Heidi Rosin says agencies looking to grow their rent roll need to ensure they have the staffing capacity to support that growth without compromising service levels.

“I’ve always operated Little Bird with one to two staff ahead of what I actually need at all times,” the Canberra property manager says, explaining that the strategy helps prevent burnout and maintain service levels.

She says agencies that overstretch their teams risk damaging client relationships and retention at a time when landlords are increasingly assessing the value their property manager provides.

Look after tenants too

Rosin says property managers looking to grow their rent roll also need to ensure that tenants are well looked after and that issues are resolved quickly.

She says positive tenant reviews and referrals have also helped generate new business opportunities, with investors increasingly paying attention to how agencies treat renters.

“Tenants are leaving us more and more reviews and I’ve had landlords say to me, ‘I read your Google reviews and I really want someone who is great with tenants’,” Rosin says.

Don’t discount your fees

Cincotta also highlights that while a tight market can prompt some agencies to lower their fees, she advises against it.

“Instead, get really clear on what is inside your fee and learn how to articulate it in a way that makes sense [to investors],” she says.

“When you drop fees you devalue every property management professional in the industry.”