Today’s tenant is young, well educated, and mostly uses online tools to find a home for rent. As Zillow reports, 65% of renters are between the ages of 18 and 38, with a fondness for technology coupled with the personal touch.
Those are just a few of the reasons why landlords today are using rental listing sites to gain maximum exposure to this key renter demographic and get vacancies filled fast with qualified renters. In this article, we’ll explain how rental listing websites work, along with a list of the best rental listing websites for this year.
What is a Rental Listing Site?
Rental listing sites are websites that landlords use to market vacant property or soon-to-be-vacant property. Most sites for rental listings are free for landlords to use, and many also work with a smartphone mobile app to help reach today’s younger Generation Z and Millennial renters.
HousingWire reports that online searches are now above pre-pandemic levels, with Google trends showing an increase in the number of people looking for single-family homes to rent. People still have the urge to move, and landlords who use rental listing sites may find their vacant property renting faster and to the most qualified tenants.
Benefits of Using a Rental Listing Website
Online tools are the #1 way renters shop for a new home, according to Zillow.
In fact, 88% of Generation Z and 90% of Millennial renters use online resources. But looking for a place to rent online isn’t limited to only younger people. Generation X (people born between the early 1960s and late 1970s) use rental listing websites 79% of the time, along with 70% of Baby Boomers.
The biggest benefits to landlords using a rental listing website include:
- Significant increase in marketing exposure.
- Most listing websites use syndication software to post your listing on other major real estate websites.
- Save time and money by reaching more prospective tenants faster and getting your vacant property rented quicker.
- Maximize leads from qualified tenants who are serious about looking for a place to rent.
- Many rental listing sites also include tenant screening services, lease preparation and signing, automated rent collection, and online maintenance request features.
The Best Rental Listing Sites
Here’s the most recent list of some of the best rental listing sites for this year. Websites are listed in alphabetical order and include direct links to the rental listing website.
Airbnb and VRBO
If you’re in between tenants and thinking about listing your property month-to-month to generate a higher level of rent, try Airbnb and VRBO instead. Although known as vacation listing websites, both also offer longer short-term rentals of one month or more.
Apartment Finder
Apartment Finder isn’t only for listing apartments. This rental listing website also has offerings for condos, townhouses, and single-family homes for rent. The website is a good way to reach a lot of renters fast. Apartment Finder is part of the Apartments.com network with more than 50 million renter visits each month.
Apartment List
At any one time, Apartment List has over 5 million places available for rent. The company collects and analyzes renter data to better match renters with your property. Apartment List uses a true pay-per-performance model, which means landlords only pay when a lead turns into a tenant.
Apartments.com
Apartments.com is touted as the #1 site for renters, with over 1 million apartments, condos, townhomes, and single-family homes for rent. This rental listing website also offers a turnkey solution for reaching millions of renters, screening applicants, signing leases, and setting up online rent payments.
Avail
Avail is another one-stop rental listing website that lets landlords find tenants and screen tenants, sign leases, and collect rents. The site is specifically designed for DIY landlords and includes best-in-class educational content.
CHBO
As things return to normal, business travelers will have a lot of catching up to do. They’ll likely stay in one place longer, which makes CHBO (Corporate Housing by Owner) the ideal rental listing website for landlords who want to target the traveling executive.
Cozy
Landlords who list on Cozy receive a unique link to use with other marketing materials to drive traffic to their Cozy rental listing. With Cozy, you can compare applicants side by side, screen tenants, and receive rent payments directly in your bank account.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a classified advertisement website that has listings for just about anything, including great homes to rent. The site serves 570 cities in 70 countries, receives over 330 million visitors each month, and is ranked #1 for classified e-commerce and shopping.
Doorsteps
Landlords can create a custom listing in minutes, pre-screen and message leads, schedule showings, screen tenants, and collect rent entirely online. Rental listings on Doorsteps are syndicated to the top 12 listing sites, helping to get vacant property filled faster.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook boasts over 2.7 billion monthly users – including 800 million on the Facebook Marketplace – and is quickly becoming one of the most popular rental listing websites. Prospective tenants can filter searches by city, price range, type of rental, and much more.
Homes.com
Homes.com is a great rental listing website to find renters who are looking for single-family housing. According to the company, 68% of the renters on Homes.com plan to move in 3 months or less, and 70% are looking for a single-family home to rent.
HotPads
HotPads is part of the Zillow Group family of rental listing websites that include Zillow and Trulia. Landlords can list property on HotPads using the Zillow Rental Manager to fill vacancies, screen tenants, and collect rent all in one place.
Lovely
Lovely is a rental listing website that specializes in helping tenants search for rental listings by owner. Home listings on Lovely are syndicated on the Rentals.com network of sites that receives over 26.5 million visitors each month.
MLS
Landlords who want to list a home for rent on the MLS need to use a local real estate agent. Although you’ll have to pay a leasing commission, the MLS is a great way to find an agent to be part of your local real estate team.
Oodle
Oodle is a classified ad listing website similar to Craigslist where landlords can list a home for rent. According to the site, millions of people are using Oodle to find apartments, condos, and houses for rent.
People With Pets
72% of all U.S. renters own pets, with dogs and cats taking the top two spots. People With Pets provides landlords with pet-friendly rentals an affordable way to reach tenants with pets, including a personalized website that’s accessible from all mobile devices.
Realtor.com
Landlords who list rental property on Realtor.com receive an average of 18 inquiries within two weeks, making the site a perfect resource for getting vacant property filled fast. The site partners with Avail to create a custom listing, screen tenants, and schedule showings.
Rent.com
Landlords listing on Rent.com reach nearly 15 million in-market renters with the RentPath network of listing websites including Apartment Guide, Rentals.com, and Lovely. This rental listing website is used by real estate investors who have anywhere from 1 to 20+ rental units.
Rentals.com
Rentals.com helps landlords find renters faster. The network of sites receives 26.5 million monthly visits and provides landlords with tools for accepting online applications, screening future tenants, and collecting rent online.
Rentberry
Rentberry reaches millions of verified tenants worldwide with syndicated listings to partner websites such as Doorsteps, Oodle, Realtor.com, and Zumper. Landlords can list for free by entering basic property information, the monthly price, and the security deposit.
RentDigs
RentDigs touts itself as the best place on the internet to advertise rentals. Landlords can list for free, post multiple pictures of a rental, and have the rental listing automatically posted on other sites such as Oodle, Trovit, and MyNewPlace (formerly RentJungle).
Zillow Rental Manager
Zillow Rental Manager provides landlords with a full suite of rental management tools including posting a free rental listing, screening tenants with online rental applications, signing a rental lease, and collecting rent payments. The platform receives over 34 million visitors each month with listings syndicated across Zillow, Trulia, and HotPads.
Zumper
Zumper is a rental listing website where landlords can post listings, screen renters, and collect rent online for free. Free renter screening is provided by TransUnion, and rent is deposited into the landlord’s bank account each month with zero hidden fees. Zumper also helps multifamily investors advertise, with quality leads and better conversion rates.
