How long to lease a property in Sydney? Across the properties we manage we average around 8.4 days to lease, and landlords hear that number and assume it is luck or a hot market. The reality is it is neither. It is a sequence. Most of it happens before the first open, and a property that is still sitting at week three has usually missed one step in it. Here is what a fast, careful lease actually takes, what slows it down, and the one decision that costs landlords the most empty weeks.
How long to lease a property in Sydney: what the first ten days decide
In our experience the first ten days on the market do most of the work. A newly listed property tends to get its biggest wave of enquiry in that window, because the portals surface new listings and tenants who have been watching the suburb act quickly. If the property is priced to what comparable homes are actually leasing for, presented properly and marketed hard from day one, that first wave usually contains the right tenant. If it is priced ahead of the market, the wave passes, enquiry settles to a trickle, and the campaign becomes a slow series of reductions that each arrive a week late.
The sequence behind an 8.4-day average
- Step 1: price on live comparable leases. Not last year’s rent, not the number the mortgage needs, not the figure a hopeful owner heard at a dinner party. What similar homes in the same building and the same streets are leasing for this month, which is what a current rental appraisal gives you.
- Step 2: presentation and photography done properly. A clean, bright, neutral home photographed by a professional, listed with priority placement on the major portals. The photos are the first inspection.
- Step 3: opens that suit tenants, not owners. Opens at times working people can actually make, with enquiries answered promptly. Good tenants have other inspections that weekend.
- Step 4: the same screening for every applicant. Identity, income, rental history, social media and references, checked the same way every time, quickly, so the right applicant is approved before they take the other place.
- Step 5: a decision, promptly. Once the right applicant is in front of us we move, because a day’s delay at this point is where a good tenant is lost to a faster agent.
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The five things that quietly add weeks
In the order we see them: a price set on hope; phone photos taken in the afternoon with the beds unmade; one open a week at the owner’s convenience; slow answers to applicants; and screening that is either too loose, which finds the wrong tenant, or so slow the right one gives up. None of these is dramatic and all of them can be fixed quickly. If your property has been sitting, an honest appraisal will usually tell you which one it is.
Why holding out for a higher rent costs more
The most expensive sentence in leasing is “let’s hold out another week for the higher rent.” Our vacancy rate sits around one per cent across the portfolio, and in our experience this is a big part of why: we price to lease, then we keep the good tenant we found. The reasoning behind that, and why holding out almost never wins, is in our guide to reducing vacancy.
Does the time of year change the answer?
In our experience demand is strongest in December and January and softest in the depth of winter. A well-priced, well-presented property leases in any month; what changes with the season is how much room there is for a pricing mistake, which is why the preparation in our guide to getting your property lease-ready matters most when the market is quiet.
What this looks like across the eastern suburbs and inner city
Across 1,400+ properties under management and 88+ Sydney suburbs the pattern is consistent. In the eastern suburbs, where tenants are spoilt for choice, the properties that lease in days are the ones that answer the application fastest. In the inner city and CBD, where apartments compete with near-identical neighbours, presentation and price decide it. The market is rarely the problem. The campaign is.
What to do if your property is already sitting
- Step 1: get a current read on price from someone who leases in your suburb every week.
- Step 2: re-shoot the photos if they were not professional, and fix what a tenant notices in the first minute.
- Step 3: open it at times tenants can make, and answer enquiries promptly.
- Step 4: if you are managing it yourself and the weeks are adding up, this is exactly what a property manager is for.
Frequently asked questions
Is 8.4 days a Sydney market average or Lifestyle Property Agency’s own figure?
It is our own figure: across the properties Lifestyle Property Agency manages the average time to lease is around 8.4 days, an internal measure rather than a published market statistic, and it comes from pricing to live comparable leases, professional presentation, opens at times working tenants can make and the same fast screening for every applicant. Individual properties vary with price, presentation and the building.
What happens in the first ten days of a rental listing in Sydney?
In our experience the first ten days on the market do most of the work, because the portals surface new listings and tenants who have been watching the suburb act quickly, so a property priced to current comparable leases, presented properly and marketed hard from day one usually finds the right tenant in that first wave. Priced ahead of the market, the wave passes and enquiry settles to a trickle.
How can I lease my property faster?
To lease a property faster in Sydney, price it on current comparable leases rather than last year’s rent, present and photograph it professionally, hold opens at times working tenants can make, answer enquiries promptly and screen applicants quickly and consistently. Together these steps are what produce a short campaign and a tenant who stays.
Does the time of year change how long a property takes to lease in Sydney?
Somewhat. In our experience demand is strongest in December and January and softest mid-winter, but a property priced to live comparable leases and presented properly leases in any month; what the season changes is how forgiving the market is of a pricing mistake, so preparation matters most when it is quiet.
Talk to Dylan Henry
Dylan Henry is Business Development Manager at Lifestyle Property Agency. For a straight, no-obligation conversation about your property — how it is performing and how to get more from it — call Dylan on 0498 498 344 or email dh@lifestylepropertyagency.com.