Almost a Quarter of Student Properties Already Let for Next Year

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. - March 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Report reveals that 59% of landlords and agents expect to have let their properties by the end of May

Expert tips shared to help remaining properties stand out

January and February were popular months for students to start looking for their next private rental, so much so, that a new annual report by Glide and Accommodation for Students has shown that 23% of landlords and agents have already let all of their student properties for the next academic year [1].

The report also revealed that a further 36% of landlords and letting agents anticipate that they will have successfully let their entire student portfolio by the end of May. However, despite the success to date, 15% still fear that they will not be successful in letting all of their student properties for the September 2015 start of term.

Similar to last year, the report revealed that the majority of landlords and letting agents prefer to let to students than non-students, with 68% saying that this is the case. With properties going so fast, there is a lot of competition in the student property market, so Glide (https://www.glide.uk.com/), the utilities and service provider for students has teamed up with Youth Insight Consultant, Brett Booth to provideinspired ideas to help landlords and agents reach students and get their properties noticed in new and effective ways.

SAY HELLO TO HUMOUR: Embrace the Banter

There is always room for an element of escapism in engaging young people. Within that playground humour is your ace of spades, a guaranteed area of connectivity that, if executed correctly, could make your communications pop from the masses and resonate with students. Play the parody card, don’t be afraid to laugh at yourselves and your industry. Vine style sketch series, mini-episodes based in properties. Get creative with photo-shop, using a caveat that ‘some features have been enhanced’ perhaps you could encourage them to guess which one to secure a viewing! Here’s (http://metro.co.uk/2014/11/15/this-three-bedroom-house-to...) an example of a landlord using their creative license and securing editorial coverage in the national press. Read BuzzFeed to get a good feel for humour that works well for the youth market

VISUAL LITERACY: Be seen in the right places, in the right form

You’re dealing with the most visually cultured generation yet. Make sure you use social media channels, such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter in your outreach, and consider working with young people to help create your ads. Such an approach will help cut through the vanilla landscape of property marketing. Break some rules, consider putting people in your property pictures and assets. Real people. “People like me…”. Don’t forget, if a picture speaks a thousand words then video speaks volumes so explore and use video formats where you can.

VALUES: Facilitate empowerment, foster respect

Young people today are widely reported to judge brands or companies very much like people. So once you get past the value point with young people, you really ought to be gunning for matching values. How will you prove to them that you are pro-fairness, empathetic, honest and embody the many other admirable traits that resonate with the student population of today?  According to research [2], two thirds of students have experienced problems with a landlord or agent at some stage, with 41% highlighting a lack of response. Landlords and letting agents can earn respect quickly by responding to tenant issues personally and promptly and once tenants are on side, use real-tenant testimonials to showcase your values here, or better still offer up a ‘response promise mantra’ in your marketing.

MAKE LIFE SIMPLER: Smooth the bumps

The life-stage transition experienced by many students from home-living to uni-digs can be a daunting challenge. Suffice to say, it can be tough.How can you make life for students a tad easier? They are constantly adding, deleting and appropriating digital apps to enhance their living experience. Follow suit. Adopt tools and technologies that help to simplify students lives. Offer inclusive bills – 72% of students² rate inclusive bills as an essential or important factor when selecting a property. Promote the fact you use a shared households utilities specialist, such as Glide (https://www.glide.uk.com/), whose very mantra is to make life simpler.

VALUE: Don’t talk cost, talk value

Let’s be straight. You can’t talk to students without addressing the bottom line. While you should always price your property according to local student rates, when it comes to marketing, tell them what they will get for their money not just the monthly price. Student fees have dramatically increased, and students are looking to maximise every pound spent. Straight price based competition is rarely a healthy place to play, so what else can you do or say to enhance your value proposition? Highlight relevant benefits students will get from their rent, or even better ask existing tenants to offer comments and views about their best bits. A real person sharing insider info about details of the property that they find favourable for the price they pay. You may end up with tagline gold for your marketing materials. Plus by using student testimonials, you’ll be conversing in a language your prospective tenants understand and respect

Brett Booth monitors youth behaviour and patterns for a living, informing brands such as MTV of cultural shifts and providing relevant creative responses for deeper brand engagement.

ENDS

1.      Results taken from the annual Landlord Report, which includes findings of a survey of 191 landlords, letting agents and private hall managers, investigating changes, trends and perspectives on the student rental market today.

2.      Results taken from a survey of 1,170 students in March 2014 as well as year-on-year data obtained from previous surveys and focus groups conducted by the AFS.

Notes to editors

·         Glide is a utilities and service provider for shared households. Founded in 2006, Glide was the first company in the UK to offer multi-tenant billing, taking the headache and financial risk out of bills for people living in shared accommodation. Glide’s mantra is bills made simple, life made simple. They exist to take the pain and stress out of utility bills, so letting agents, landlords, and tenants have more time to do the things they love.

·         Glide is recognised as one of the UK’s fastest growing businesses, having featured on the ‘London Stock Exchange 1000 companies to inspire Britain’ report for 2015 and entered the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 in late 2014 and has achieved several accolades for achievement: notably, Best Business Award for Innovation: Best Business Awards 2014.