New Year’s resolutions for property investors

If you own rentals in Adelaide, you know it’s important to stay on top of your game to get the most out of your property portfolio. If you’re planning on tackling 2015 with the same strategy you had for 2014, you may be setting yourself up for a less than stellar year. Make sure you assess your property management strategies before the holidays end.

Ask for more rent

In 2015 some landlords will need to increase their rent to stay on top of increasing costs and to maintain industry average income. According to SQM Research, as at the week ending 28 December, the asking rent for houses has increased by 1.9 per cent for the year. Units have increased by the same amount, however two bedroom units have become increasingly popular and command a rent that is 3.2 per cent higher than a year ago.

If you haven’t increased your rental in the past month, you may consider doing so in the first month of 2015 to make sure you are getting what your property deserves. However, there will also be people who need to decrease their asking rent.

Ask for less rent

The vacancy rate is sitting very low at the moment, which means that competition for rentals is very high. SQM Research put the vacancy rate for Adelaide at the end of November at 1.5 per cent. If your property was one of the very untenanted towards the end of the year, your asking rent could be too high.

Although a lower asking rent may seem like a step backwards, an empty house earns no rent at all. A few weeks or even a couple months of vacancy will do much more harm to your balance sheet than dropping your rent by a marginal amount per week.

If you are unsure of where to price your property in Adelaide or don’t know who to market your specific real estate to, talk to a property manager to get some expert advice.