VI RTUAL SHOWI NGS
WENT UP BY 74% I N 2020 . ONL I NE RENT PAYMENTS WENT UP BY 105%
According to our survey, 77% of tenants prefer to pay rent using online forms of payment. Also in our data, the number of documents signed online has gone up a whopping 360%. The number of tenants paying online has increased by 105%, and the total number of dollars collected online by landlords has grown 117%. These figures also demonstrate a clear trend toward online business, which makes perfect sense given the personal limitations of the pandemic. Online rental management services further this preference by offering automation in addition to no-contact business. Adjusting rent,
accepting partial payments, forgiving late fees, and contracting maintenance are services that can all be scaled and automated using property management software. Interestingly, these preferences for online features extend beyond financial services. There was a 74% increase in first- time virtual showings in 2020, an Entrata survey shows, with landlords increasingly willing to show a property using only a phone or computer. Even though landlords must still put in the effort to make the space ready for eyes, virtual showings save everyone the hassle of agreeing on a time to
meet in person, which can delay proceedings even outside of a pandemic, especially for out-of-state renters. Given the difficulty of evicting tenants during the pandemic, landlords have adapted by becoming more rigorous with tenant screening. Those who didn’t screen tenants prior to the pandemic have more reason to now, and those who do screen have tightened their standards. 34% of landlords in our survey reported that they have made their screening standards more rigorous. The National Rental Home Council, also shows that about a third of landlords P A G E 3 1 |
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