Reflecting on the Corporate Housing Annual Report
Admin
Published Date: 2013-01-26
A couple of weeks ago we released our 4th annual by owner Corporate Housing Annual Report. We conduct the Report each year in order to uncover trends, challenges and opportunities facing the corporate housing industry, particularly those who own and manage their own individual properties (also known as by owner landlords).
We noticed a few unique trends in this year's report when compared to last year's report and I'd like to take the time to reflect on them in the blog.
First, one interesting tidbit is that less people are calling their short-term rental properties "vacation rentals." In fact, there was a 13% drop in the number of people calling their rental property a vacation rental. I believe this term might be losing its luster because of pumped up regulation in key cities like Chicago, Austin and New York, where short-term housing is banned for weekly and nightly rentals, and monthly rentals are the only acceptable way to market a short-term furnished rental property.
Further, this year I noticed respondents were more positive that ever. 92% say their properties were "profitable" or "breakeven" in 2012, but more interesting to note, 36% predict 2013 will be more profitable than 2012! I'll drink to that! Such optimism is leading many corporate housing landlords to invest more in real estate, with 40% citing that they plan to purchase additional real estate in 2013.
Another topic worth noting in this year's survey is the changing attitudes toward security deposits, something we've talked a lot about on the CHBO blog. While 82% say they require a refundable security deposit, this figure is down from 89% in 2011. In a growing trend, 8% say they require Accidental Rental Damage Insurance (ARDI) as a security deposit alternative. This means the security deposit is slowly but surely losing its luster as landlords and tenants opt for insurance options instead.
If you're a corporate housing landlord - particularly one of the "by owner" landlords who uses sites like CHBO to list and advertise their properties - you'll find the insights presented in this survey interesting, download your free copy online and refer to it often - it will help you set your rates, amenities, marketing budget and more - enjoy!
