Open Listing == Crowd Sourcing

An Open Listing arrangement allows multiple brokers to compete with each other to find a suitable tenant to rent a vacant apartment. It works best in markets such as New York City, with a high volume of interested leads , but very low rate of actual transaction.

Unfortunately, most perspective renters who want to view an apartment will ultimately not sign a lease. Either they don’t like the apartment, can’t afford the apartment, or want to keep looking for better options. That is why in 2020 we still need a network of professional apartment finders to qualify both sides – they only show good apartments to qualified renters.

 

 

*Markets tend to be more efficient with more competing participants.

At RentHop, we host both open and exclusive listings. In some cases, an exclusive is the most appropriate – especially a For Rent By Owner situation when there is not enough regular inventory to enlist a roster of brokerage firms. You either show it yourself or hire an exclusive agent to do so.

However, for the medium and larger landlords, we have tens of thousands of datapoints that all come to the same conclusion: agents who service open listings are faster to reply to renters, and ultimately work harder to close the deal. Any given renter lead or agent is unlikely to work out, but collectively, all the agents work in parallel to sift through dozens or hundreds of showings before filling a vacant apartment. And if the renter and apartment are a bad match, maybe other nearby apartments will work.

Unfortunately, an agent who “wins” an exclusive listing no longer has much incentive to spend time and resources renting it quickly. And even the most diligent agent is only one person, or one team, who can not process all of the incoming leads. Finally, the exclusive agent might suggest other listings, but if they are doing their jobs well, they should focus entirely on marketing their exclusive. In a world with only exclusive listings, renters are forced to do far more of the legwork and research, while vacancies continue piling up.

Lee Lin
Lee Lin
Lee is a data geek from MIT who spent years at quantitative hedge funds cranking out models to explain and predict financial markets. Real estate has always been a big part of Lee's life. He grew up helping out at his parents' Jersey Shore motels, became a landlord his first year out of college, analyzed mortgages on a fixed-income trading desk, and acquired a New York real estate license. At RentHop, he combines his nerd talents and real estate knowledge to constantly tweak the secret HopScore. He currently lives near Bryant Park and his favorite restaurant was Cafe Zaiya (now known as Tomiz).

You May Also Like

Summer Decorations For Your Apartment

Summer is here to stay, which usually means a beach vacation, frozen margaritas, and chilling in a pleasantly decorated space. But, not everyone has...

10 Things to Check Before Renting an Apartment

Finding a new apartment is equally exciting as it is nerve-wracking. In places like New York City, renters only have a few weeks to...

The Hidden Waterfalls of New York City

New York City isnโ€™t just a huge, concrete jungle. Behind the bustling traffic and tall skyscrapers, are both natural and man-made hidden escapes. What...

Recent Articles