To List or be Listless: Thin Ice of Property Management

In recent years, property management groups (PMGs) have been trying to maximize their respective asset performance and rental yield by listing their properties on student housing platforms. Moreover, PMGs have closely observed the potential and strength of effective representation via aggregators or marketplaces. Due to the enormous amount of bookings, the marketplaces or aggregators have solid data points that are invaluable to PMGs or property operators.

Aggregators serve as an integrated platform, where property management groups (PMGs) can reach maximum students and achieve early booking cycles at minimum cost and maximum efficiency. The following figure is a schematic representation of the aggregator-based student housing marketplaces. At the top of the chain are students who reach out to aggregators & seek help with booking the property.

A) Market dynamics of international student housing market.

In the last decade, the international student housing market has witnessed a surge in student demand, resulting in the growing need for student housing platforms to heighten profitability within the sector. As universities increase their intake of international students every year, the demand for student housing continues to skyrocket.

• PMGs have their hands full, scouting for viable developing and building sites, renovating, acquiring, and managing tenants & operations.
• Meanwhile, the steady bullish market has inspired strong ties between property management groups and student housing listing organizations to make the most profitable market dynamics.
• Curated databases and business intelligence establish trust in marketplaces for property managers as well as students.

B) Advantages of listing with student housing marketplace:

A housing marketplace or aggregator in the student accommodation market refers to an online platform or website that facilitates the listing and rental process of student accommodations. These platforms help property management groups or individual landlords with direct processed bookings from students searching for their accommodation for a fixed-term tenancy.

The marketplace typically provides a centralized platform where student housing listings can be created, managed, and viewed by potential tenants. It often includes features such as search filters, communication tools, and payment processing to facilitate the transactions. The sales team, or agents, from top global marketplaces, assist students through the entire booking process.

Established marketplaces like ‘amber’ help students not only by guiding them to an ideal accommodation as per students’ budget, but also by doing the heavy lifting of educating, completing booking-related documentation, following through the entire booking process, handholding them towards the tenancy agreement closures, and in most cases, helping them during move-ins.

In this blog, we will reflect on the top 5 ways in which property managers save cost, maximize revenue, and attract a larger student base by listing their housing properties with market aggregators.

1. Access to real-time data & market insights

Student housing listing platforms help property managers gain live market insights about student demand based on the source nation and the location of the property

• As students keep booking through the listing platforms, the collective housing marketplace gets richer with historical insights.
• Reputable listing platforms have advanced strategic dashboards that help property managers with detailed insights into year-on-year booking cycles, student preferences, and potential profits in dynamic price-setting.
• Aggregators create booking urgency amongst students by providing them with an on-ground market situation and ensuring certainty of rental income.
• Amber has a built-in booking platform and business dashboard through which we help property managers streamline their strategies, find a 360° view of market trends, and maximize their sales revenue. With Amber Property managements get additional competencies that help them to make data-backed strategic decisions some of the competencies are mentioned in the figure below.

2. Better allocation of commercials & resources for PMG’s

By listing their properties, property management groups can channel their financial resources toward property development, acquisition, renovation, and management.

• On one hand, marketplaces help them generate high urgency and massive demand so that the properties sell out early in the booking cycle. On the other hand, if an aggregator can drive an early booking cycle, the property manager realizes that his properties are in high demand, and can increase the rent/unit for the next booking cycle.
• Property operators might find it difficult to gain such competency on their own, and even if they do, the associated expenses shall make it an uphill climb, resulting in an overall increase in customer acquisition cost (CAC) for operators.
• With dedicated tech, database, and communication channels, the student housing marketplace reduces the CAC of property operators.

3. Outsourcing customer relationship management

Listing platforms are the first ‘service encounter’ or ‘point of contact’ between the student & the listed properties. The marketplaces play a critical role in the buying decisions of students.

• This interaction is called the ‘moment of truth’, where the student makes a snap decision, on whether or not to make the purchase.
• Since the housing marketplaces help the students understand all the details of the property and help build the confidence to book the property, most property management groups are increasingly realizing the value of marketplaces in the business chain.
• Listing organizations even help sustain healthy post-booking relationships with students until they move in. Due to the strong service mindset & effective services by agents, the students remain in touch with them until move-in in most cases.

4.Effective communication and accurate property representation

By utilizing student housing listings for their properties, PMGs can allocate financial resources more effectively towards development, acquisition, renovation, and management efforts.

• The communication combines verbal and audiovisual representations of the property to create the perfect balance & effective property representation, with Images, videos, live tours, and targeted promotions.
• The use of interactive tools by student housing marketplaces elevates the booking experience for students. 3D property tours, live tours, images, & live viewing (in person or remotely over a video call) build trust in the minds of the students toward a home that they are about to book without visiting in person. This also helps the property by saving time & increasing conversions.  Interactive virtual tours help students identify amenities and facilities, so they can make informed choices.

5. Strategic promotional activities undertaken by marketplace

Whatever the demand for property managers, the listing organizations respond with heavy conversion through strategic promotional activities based on the targeted demographic.

• Strategic promotions go far beyond offering discounts, cashback, or early-booking offers. Student housing listing organizations ensure that the offers appear lucrative enough for students based on their expectancy and socio-economic context.
• On the other hand, care must be taken that the worth of the property is not diminished in the eyes of the students because of all the offers and promotions.
• Hence, property listing platforms work both on proactive market communication and prompt reactive response, so the listed properties & their operators are always strategically aligned with market demands.

Promotional activities carried out by student housing platforms serve a threefold purpose:

1. Bookings: Strategic implementation creates an aspirational value, facilitating seamless bookings.
2. Creating urgency: Timely presentation to relevant student demographics generates urgency, resulting in swift bookings.
3. Builds credibility: When the marketplace sends promotional material in an organic manner to prospective leads, the students consider those listed properties to be highly credible.

6. Managing cancellations or finding replacement

Top aggregators are able to easily find replacements in case a student decides to cancel their booking at the last minute since they have a vast database of students looking for booking properties of their choice. Finding replacements becomes easier for them as compared to individual operators. browse here.

C) Conclusion

In the dynamic market of student housing, property management groups forge strongest ties with listing organizations. The data-driven strategies, insights and marketing communication ensure global visibility of housing properties and maximum rental yield for the operators. Listing organizations are not mere just an agent. They are hubs of crucial market intelligence, which are leveraged by property operators for wealth maximization and as a safeguard against demand volatility. Hence, list your property with amber and establish credibility of a property and turn their renting decisions in your favor.

‍