Why am I NOT getting any inquiries on my midterm rental?

Question

I have rented my personal home as a fully furnished/lots of amenities 3 month rental  jan, feb, and march the past 3 years. I rent to one couple or small family for the full rental period - no less than 2 months and no more than 3 months. I have had wonderful renters each year, relocations to my area who need temporary housing, but this year have not had even a single inquiry (priced the same as previous years). My place is in Castle Rock, just south of Denver. Not a tourist destination, but very popular and is experiencing rapid growth. I have lowered the price significantly this year. Any insight as to why I'm not getting any inquiries this year?

Chris Seveney · Answer

What were the prior tenants during this time using it for? Was it for a place to live for work before they found a permanent location or was it used for someone wanting to stay in the area as a 2nd home for the winter months?

If the latter, people have tightened there wallets and certain areas are seeing a decline. Have you spoken with an agent or others to see if its the area? That would determine if its your property or just the market. My guess is its the market.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Maybe you were fortunate in years past. Winter always sees fewer people moving, but a lot of people were transitioning for the last 4-5 years. This year is slower than normal because mortgage rates and home prices are so high. I suspect it's due to the change in the housing market and economy.

Steve K. · Answer

We’ve had a lot more turnover and higher vacancy rates across the front range than in previous years. It’s not just you, it’s across the board. I’ve had more success filling vacant units by word of mouth/ networking with other agents in my market recently than I have through the typical advertising methods. For the first time in years I’ve noticed many of the larger apartment complexes even offering the first month free to fill vacant units, so it’s clear that demand is down. Several factors at play: the sales market has been slow so many would-be sellers are converting houses they can’t sell to rentals, lots of new construction units have been completed recently, and in-migration has slowed down a bit. I think the market will pick up in 2025 as a whole but 2024 was a big dud. Perhaps reach out to local agents who work with a lot of buyers in your market and see if any of them need a place to rent while they house shop (inventory is still low). Many of the local agencies collaborate with each other to help each other’s buyer clients find furnished MTRs and this is how I’ve been finding tenants for my MTR’s this year. Sabbatical homes dot com and furnished finder have been good in the past as well but I have not used them recently. Facebook marketplace has also been good for me, although I’ve heard that others have not been as happy with it (lots of spammers/ flaky people). My Boulder units have still been 100% occupied, while Longmont and Denver units have had much higher turnover in 2024 than the previous 5 years.

Ron Brady · Answer

In our market, we are seeing more MTR providers. That may also be a part of what is happening.

Sara Valentine · Answer

Advertising on zillow (where I've gotten my renters the past 3 years), apartments.com, Facebook, airbandb and vrbo, and for the first time this year on realtor.com, turbo tenant, and Avail. In the past I advertised on Furnished Finder but never got any inquiries so didn't list with them this time.  It IS probably the worst time of the year - but that's when I go away (I'm a snowbird) so Jan, Feb and March are when I need to rent it. I need to reach people looking for temporary housing, but not vacationers - because Castle Rock is not a place people go for extended vacations, especially in winter. Zillow is not ideal because this is a monthly furnished rental - which Zillow doesn't have a specific platform for - but that's what has worked for me up to now.  I do not believe it's a pricing issue because I have priced it lower than in previous years. It is very nice with above average amenities and priced just $500 over what it would rent for as a non-furnished 12 month lease rental (I have two of those nearby so am very familiar with comps).

Kim Meredith Hampton · Answer

Sara, Just very slow this year in long and mid term. Where are you advertising?

Brian Bohrer · Answer

Hey @Sara Valentine,

It sounds like this is a common problem with many other STR and MTR operators locally and across the country.  I have heard many times (from managers much smarter than me) that if you aren't getting as many eyes on your listing as you want, then you must lower the price!

Full disclosure, I only deal in LTR at the moment, but I know when I am not getting the quality applicants or volume that I want, I will lower the price by $50 to $100 per week to spur more applications.  The PM vets I know will all confirm that you lose much less by lowering your rate of (monthly) rent than by missing an entire month of income!  I know you are dealing with a 3 month lease rather than a 12 month lease, but for example....

Say I rent my home for $2,500 per month and have to lower my rate by $100 to find a quality tenant that is a loss of $1,200 over 12 months compared to a loss of $2,500 for each month it remains empty.  Even if I have to lower the rate by $200 to find the right tenant, I am still ahead of the game by a C-note by year's end.

Just my 2 cents, I hope you have already found a tenant for your home by the time this post drops!

I wish you the best! :)

Sara Valentine · Answer

Good input - thank you

Sara Valentine · Answer

Hi Chris. Thanks for responding. My previous renters were relocations - either had sold their home and looking to buy another (low inventory so takes a while to find a home to buy) or moving here from another city and didn't know yet what neighborhood they want to be in, or alse building a home and need a place to live until it's completed. So even though no one wants to have to rent in December or January, renting was NECESSARY for them until they found something permanent.

Madri Koppe · Answer

We’re experiencing the same for our unit on a 6 month lease and suspect it’s due to the time of the year. From reading other posts this year has been particularly challenging.

Why am I NOT getting any inquiries on my midterm rental?

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