Investor · Morehead City, NC · Member since 2015 · 99 posts · 32 votes
Last night, I posted one of my houses that is coming up for rent on Craigslist and Zillow. I never posted on Zillow before, but figured that I should get with the times and try it out. Zillow has an option to automatically post on Hotpads and Trulia, which I did. So far Zillow is crushing Craigslist 5 to 1 in tenant leads. And Hotpads is in second with 3 to 1. I just thought I'd share. Are you seeing the same numbers in finding tenant leads in your areas?
Real Estate Broker · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2014 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10y
Zillow is just a much cleaner interface for a renter looking for home. They can sort geographically, by price, and it's a much fresher experience. CL to me lately just feels like digging through the newspaper. They really need a re design.
Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2012 · 502 posts · 263 votes
10y
I use Postlets (now Zillow Rental Manager) exclusively now. It syndicates to the major brands (Trulia, Zillow, Hotpads). I no longer use Craigslist or even put a sign in the yard. Both of those methods yielded the lowest quality leads.
Investor · Seattle, WA · Member since 2015 · 71 posts · 60 votes
10y
From a renter's perspective Zillow and Trulia are much easier to navigate. Just set your parameters and the list appears. Plus if you save your search they will send you an email of anything that matches your criteria on a daily basis. (good for market research as well as the owner.)
Compare with Craigslist which is a random list that is full of scams, hard to search, tons of repeats as you have to repost every day to be on top, and very inconsistent quality of information.
So if you are a busy professional, which would you turn to...
Investor · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
10y
You guys are spot on. I just created two rental ads on zillow that I've been posting recently on craigslist and I'm getting significantly more leads from the zillow partner sites.
However, the quality of the leads isn't as good. Most people do not respond after I send them the pre-screening questionnaire.
Are you guys having better luck by following up on these leads with phone calls or emails?
Rental Property Investor · Whittier, CA · Member since 2014 · 325 posts · 268 votes
9y
This is an old thread, but I think these systems have continued to evolve.
In my market of Southern California, I get the majority of my contacts, for both mid market and low cost rentals, via Zillow/Trulia/Hotpads (I don't bother making a distinction between them, as they're just three heads on the same beast). I do get some leads from apartments.com but not many. I still post regularly on Craigslist which generates some traffic for open houses, but I haven't rented to anyone from CL in a year. I don't do yard signs anymore.
Real Estate Agent · San Jose, CA · Member since 2015 · 84 posts · 50 votes
9y
I use Postlets (owned by zillow since 2011) to advertise my rentals. It's an excellent distribution platform. CL has not invested in any new technology to improve their value to landlords or renters . Zillow has emerged as the dominate player in rental research and rental offering market in Silicon Valley.
Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y
I just use both CL and Zillow, as my ads are already set up and it's a cinch to renew. Although I haven't tracked it, I find good tenants from both sources.
But I agree with @Brendon Woirhaye that people seem flakier on Zillow. It's like they just spontaneously click send, and are less likely to return any info you request of them. I also don't like that I'm forced to reveal my real email address in my reply, and the other party doesn't. Annoying.