Where do you find rent comps?

Question

Hello BP crew,

I am wondering how you guys go about finding rental comps. In a perfect world, I could look at what is currently being rented and figure out an accurate range, but I cannot seem to find that information anywhere.

As of right now I just look at the current rentals listed and dig into the # of days listed / # of applications to gauge interest at that price. However, this strategy falls apart when there are not many listings.

Also, how do you gain insight into the demand for rentals in an area to determine if the market is oversaturated? My first thought was # of listings, but in a big city there are a million listings but still strong demand at times. I'm sure one phone call to a property manager would clear up these questions, but I would rather consult strangers (for now) on the internet.

Thanks all!

Ron Brady · Answer

Rentometer, Rentcast, Zillow rent Zestimates, and listed rents for nearby similar properties. I make a spreadsheet with 6-10 entries of the above numbers. I prefer to get to at least 10 if I can. I toss out any unusually high or low numbers and get the average of them. I then use my judgement as to what my unit may or should rent for.

Kieran Jagadeesh · Answer

Thank you all for the feedback. A lot of good insight here.

Peter Mckernan · Answer

Get an agent to get you comps off the MLS, best and most true/accurate ones that you can get.

Paul De Luca · Answer

I use the MLS to pull rental comps.

If you don't have access to the MLS or have an agent you work with you can use websites like rentometer.com, zillow rent estimator, and the BP rent estimator tool. Sometimes it is difficult to find enough comps to determine a rent range you're confident in.

To gain insight into the demand for rentals in an area, it's a good idea to look at variables like comps that have rented in the past 6 months, how long they took to rent, original list price compared to actual rent price, how many active rental listings there are in an area, average rent price, median rent price. I like the MLS because I can pull a report for an area to review all of those statistics I mentioned.

Bjorn Ahlblad · Answer

I use Zillow and rentometer depending on the parameters I want. You can enter 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment for rent in the Bronx or Lincoln Park and start there.

Eliott Elias · Answer

MLS

Where do you find rent comps?

Where do you find rent comps?

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