With so many listing platforms, where would you list your property for rent? As a real estate investor wanting to fill vacancies, using the right listing site can make all the difference. The best rental listing sites offer essential tools for landlords, such as rent price analysis, tenant screening, listing management, virtual tours, and more. I’ve listed six of the best rental listing sites, why I chose them, and their standout features.
- Apartments.com: Best for comprehensive apartment searches
- Zillow Rental Manager: Best for extensive tenant reach
- Airbnb: Best for vacation and short-term rentals
- Avail: Best for do-it-yourself (DIY) landlords
- HotPads: Best for intuitive interface
- TurboTenant: Best for advertising and listing syndication
The Close’s Top Picks for Best Rental Listing Sites
| Apartments.com: Best for comprehensive apartment searches | |||
| Zillow Rental Manager: Best for extensive tenant reach | |||
| Airbnb: Best for vacation and short-term rentals | |||
| Avail: Best for do-it-yourself (DIY) landlords | |||
| HotPads: Best for intuitive interface | |||
| TurboTenant: Best for advertising and listing syndication |
Apartments.com: Best for Comprehensive Apartment Searches
Why I Chose Apartments.com
Apartments.com is one of the best rental listing sites that offer valuable features to real estate investors and landlords, such as virtual tours, tenant screening, rent price analysis, and SEO-optimized listings. It is also the best rental website for attracting qualified applicants because of its pay-to-apply system. This ensures that only serious applicants apply, as they must be willing to pay a fee of $29.00 plus tax for their application and screening reports, valid for 10 different listings and 30 days.
Additional Features
- Rent price analysis: Compare your property with nearby listings by bedrooms, age, and size. For free, analyze market conditions, including days on the market and rent rates.
- Property expense tracker: Effectively handle property management tasks, including expense tracking, tax categorization, and receipt attachments via your computer or phone while on the go.
Zillow Rental Manager: Best for Extensive Tenant Reach
Why I Chose Zillow Rental Manager
Zillow Rental Manager is the largest real estate website, making it one of the best house rental listing sites. With over 30 million monthly visitors and listings displayed on Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads, it is best for the maximum exposure and visibility it provides. Additionally, it offers pricing insights and rental tools, including tenant screening to avoid rental scams, rental application, and rent collection, which streamline rental management for landlords.
Additional Features
- Rental lease agreement: Create a rental lease using Zillow’s online lease builder and templates drafted in collaboration with local law firms, or upload your lease and have your renters e-sign it.
- Virtual tours: With Zillow’s 3D home tours, you can capture a tour within minutes with an iPhone 7 or later and send it for free to potential renters.
Airbnb: Best for Vacation & Short-term Rentals
Why I Chose Airbnb
Airbnb is a rental listing platform that highly values accessibility, inclusivity, host protection, and support. These features make it a great choice for landlords, resulting in an excellent rental management experience. It is the best place to list short-term rental properties as the platform focuses on day, week, and monthly rentals rather than long-term tenants. In addition, Airbnb provides articles and video series on various topics to help you meet your goals, including topics on smart pricing, becoming an inclusive host, and designing a property space.
Additional Features
- Mobile app: Airbnb’s mobile app allows property owners to edit their listings, manage availability and pricing, and quickly message guests.
- Aircover for hosts: This feature protects you as a host by offering guest identity verification, reservation screening, and damage protection in case guests cause damage.
Avail: Best for DIY Landlords
Why I Chose Avail
In partnership with Realtor.com, Avail is one of the best sites to list rental properties. It offers free subscription plans and affordable pricing per unit. With its automated reference checks, showing scheduling, and robust online rent payment system, it stands out as the best site to list rental property for DIY landlords. Avail’s features streamline the rental listing and application process landlords must go through.
Additional Features
- Property management software: This feature helps landlords accurately track their finances, including properties’ income and operating expenses.
- Syndicated property listings: This feature syncs listings across multiple leading listing websites nationwide, including Realtor.com, Zumper, Padmapper, Walkscore, Doorsteps.com, Apartments.com, Rentable, ApartmentList, and more.
TurboTenant: Best for Advertising & Listing Syndication
Why I Chose TurboTenant
If you want your rental property listing in front of as many eyes as possible, go with TurboTenant. It syndicates with over 25 rental listing sites, including Apartments.com, Realtor.com, Zumper, and Redfin. This will make your search for the most qualified tenant as easy and quick as possible. In addition, TurboTenant’s AI-powered property description tool will help you breeze through creating your listing so it presents your property in the best light to attract your target tenant audience.
Additional Features
- Accounting and bookkeeping tools: TurboTenant provides automated reporting that allows landlords to review finances at a glance. Reports include cash flow, profit and loss statements, tax documents, and more.
- Tenant applications and leases: Landlords can create custom applications for their tenants to be completed either online or printed for in-person use. Similarly, put together a state-specific lease in minutes with the fill-in-the-blank tool.
HotPads: Best for Intuitive Interface
Why I Chose HotPads
HotPads, affiliated with Zillow Group alongside Zillow and Trulia, provides a versatile rental listing solution. It stands out as one of the best sites to list rental property because of its easy-to-use interface and map-based search, making it easy to compare listings. Integration with Zillow Rental Manager helps efficiently fill vacancies, screen tenants, and collect rent, all from a single platform. It is also accessible via a cloud-based mobile app.
Additional Features
- Comprehensive search criteria: This feature allows you to search beyond a specific location using the platform. For instance, you can search for “Pet-friendly Apartments.”
- Commute time calculator: This tool estimates the time it will take to reach your desired home, which can facilitate informed decision-making.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the best month to list a rental property?
The best time to list a rental property is typically between May and September, when rental prices are at their highest. During the spring season, renters are more active, which makes it easier to fill vacancies. On the flip side, avoid listing your rental properties during winter, as these are the slowest months.
Where do people rent houses the most?
Statista says people rent houses the most in Washington, D.C., California, Nevada, New York, and Massachusetts. These areas attract a steady stream of renters because of significant job opportunities. Additionally, with the increasing cost of housing, people are turning to renting instead of purchasing their homes.
What rental properties make the most money?
Apartment complexes that accommodate multiple families and tenants and commercial buildings that house several businesses are often the most profitable rental properties. With the potential for long-term leases and many tenants, landlords can enjoy a stable income.
Which state is most landlord-friendly?
As of this writing, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Hawaii are the most landlord-friendly states. These states have ranked high in rental market conditions, tenant happiness, and ease of finding rental properties. Read our article on the best states for landlords for more information.
Methodology: How I Chose the Best Rental Listing Sites
The Close’s expert researchers, agents, writers, and editors evaluated dozens of paid and free rental listing sites. We analyzed each rental listing site and based our top picks on the following criteria:
- General Features (40%)
- This category covers listing management, tenant screening tools, short-term rental options, social media sharing for listings, virtual tours or 3D viewing, map or street view, rent analysis, saved searches and alerts, SEO-optimized listings, and performance analytics.
- Pricing (25%)
- We examined each rental listing site’s pricing and whether it offers a free listing plan.
- Ease of Use (10%)
- We evaluated each rental listing site’s user interface and how easy it is to operate and set up.
- Reputation (10%)
- We assessed each rental listing site’s reputation by considering feedback from verified users.
- Expert Score 10%
- The Close reviewed rental listing sites for standout features, additional considerations, and value for money spent from a real estate expert’s perspective.
- Help & Support (5%)
- Customer services such as live chat, phone, email, and ticket systems are necessary should property owners and landlords need additional support.
Read more about our methodology here.
Bringing It All Together
Remember, the best site to list rental property depends on your preferences and goals as an investor. The site you choose should improve your rental business in the long run. Have you tried using one of the best sites to list a rental property I’ve mentioned above? Share your experience in the comments!
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