Whether you’re listing your Santa Rosa rental property for the first time or you’re between tenants, pricing it accurately will help you attract highly qualified renters in the market for a new home. The wrong price will turn people away and leave you with a longer and more expensive vacancy.

How do you price competitively without losing money? How do you price at the high end of your rental range without turning potential residents away?

You need to know the market, and you need to understand the factors that go into establishing the proper rental value.

Here’s how we do it as professional Santa Rosa property managers.

We Follow the Santa Rosa Rental Market

Before you price your rental property, you need to understand the strengths and potential weaknesses of the Santa Rosa rental market. The rental price you were able to set last year or even last month may not apply in the current market. Things change all the time, and market conditions will have the most influence on how you price your property. Look at competing properties. Compare them to yours.

Time of year will also affect the market and impact how much you can earn. If your property is vacant in the late spring and early summer, you’re in a good spot, because there are more tenants willing to move between school years. Lower rental prices will be required around the holidays, when few people are interested in moving. Look at market demand before you price your property.

Location Always Drives Rental Value

Where exactly is your Santa Rosa rental property located? This will make a big difference in how you price it. Well-qualified residents are likely to pay higher rents for a home in a desirable neighborhood that’s close to restaurants, shopping, and schools. If you’re in a great school district and close to highways and commuter routes, you can probably charge a little more than you could if your property is in a more rural or distant location and not close to any grocery stores, shopping centers, or conveniences.

Walkable neighborhoods are more popular than ever. If your tenants can walk to dinner or grab their morning coffee on the way to work, you’re going to have a more valuable property than one that requires a 20-minute drive to the nearest convenience store.

Property Condition is a Pricing Factor You Can Control

Perhaps the most important part of your pricing calculation is property condition. You cannot control the market and you cannot control tenant demand. You can’t move your property’s location.

But, you can provide a well-maintained home that has strategic upgrades and updates. You can appeal to a tenant’s aesthetic requirements and offer a welcoming and inviting home.

Attractive rental homes will rent for higher prices and deteriorating properties will rent for less. It’s not difficult to see the value in fresh paint, updated landscaping, and shiny floors and surfaces.

Invest a little money in minor upgrades to attract the best tenants and the highest rental prices. This doesn’t mean you need to rip out your kitchen or add a bedroom. But, a fresh coat of paint, new hard surface floors, or even shiny brass hardware fixtures on drawers and cupboards can make a huge difference.

We can help with pricing as your local Santa Rosa property management experts. When you’re ready to lease your home, contact our team at Redwood Residential Property Management.