How to Reduce Vacancy With Better Property Listings

What an empty week costs

Work it out for your own unit: the monthly rent, times twelve, divided by 365, is what each empty day costs. Multiply by the days between one lease ending and the next starting. That's the number better listings are trying to shrink.

A listing can fail at three points, and each has a different fix.

Problem 1: Nobody is looking

If a listing gets few views, the issue is visibility or the first impression in a search result.

• Lead with the best photo. Usually the exterior or the main living space in daylight. The first photo decides whether anyone clicks.
• Put the price, beds and area in the title or first line. People scan.
• List it where your renters look. Your own site is the link you share; the portals are where many searches start. Use both.
• Share the link. Every "is it available?" message gets the listing page, not a paragraph.

Problem 2: People look, but don't inquire

If views are healthy and inquiries aren't, the listing is answering the wrong questions.

Photos

Every room, in order, the way someone would walk through. Lights on, clutter gone, wide but not distorted. The photo order checklist has the full list.

Description

Replace adjectives with facts. "Bright two-bedroom" tells people less than "two bedrooms, south-facing living room, washer-dryer in the unit, street parking." Include:

• Size and layout
• What's included (parking, laundry, storage, air conditioning)
• Pet policy
• Availability date and lease length
• What's nearby: transit, groceries, schools

Price

If a listing gets plenty of views and no inquiries for a couple of weeks, the price is the usual suspect. Compare with similar units that actually rented, not ones still sitting.

Required information

Some places require specific facts in a listing. In the UK, the duty to give material information in a listing remains under the DMCC Act, even though the NTSELAT guidance was withdrawn in May 2025; here's a working checklist. In New Zealand, rental listings need to state the rent. Check your own local rules.

Problem 3: People inquire, but don't lease

This is usually process, not the listing.

• Slow replies. Someone inquiring about your unit is inquiring about others too.
• Showings that take a week of texting to arrange. Let people book a time themselves.
• No-shows. A confirmation and a day-before reminder help; so does this script.
• Lost track of who's who. Applicants spread across texts and email. How to fix that.

What to measure

• Views per listing
• Inquiries per listing
• Days from listing to signed lease

Compare each property with your own past lets, not with a benchmark.

Where Loftfolio fits

Every property gets its own page with its own address, you see views per listing and a daily visit trend, and applicants can apply and book a viewing from the listing, with email confirmations, a reminder the day before and a way to cancel. UK listings have the material-information fields built in (price, tenure, council tax band, and the deposit on a letting), and a New Zealand rental can't be published without its rent. On Pro and Agency, photo checks flag low-resolution and near-duplicate photos and suggest an order leading with the exterior.

It won't set your price or push the listing to the portals. If you let your own properties, start here.

→ See how a listing page works on the demo agency