Benchmark: How many days of vacancy is ok?
The first step towards starting working data-driven is to gain control over your own key figures. The second step is to see where improvement is needed, but to see where you're falling behind, you need to be able to compare with others.
To allow you to compare your results against others in the industry, we at Homepal have started with benchmarks.
The first benchmark falls within the area of rental and market: Vacancy time between move-out and move-in.
"In 2022, we had rent losses of 1.6 MSEK linked to renovations. By visualizing and following up this key figure month by month, we have reduced this figure by 33% during the first 3 months. The key has been to put the light on and say that this is important and consistently follow up to create commitment to the issue among our employees."
Municipal housing companies generally have high demand and low vacancy rates, but many are challenged by protracted renovations that prevent new tenants from moving in.
The benchmark for vacancy between moving out and moving in is a maximum of 30 days. This applies to objects that need extensive renovation before the next tenant can move in.
For objects that are ready for occupation or only require minor adjustments, the maximum time between moving out and moving in should be about 7 days. With today's increased costs, cash flow becomes extremely important and few real estate companies can afford the loss of rent from vacant properties.
As you can see from the quote above, a lot can be done about vacancies if you identify the problem and engage the organization to work together.
Do you keep track of your vacancy time? If you have no system support for monitoring vacancies, you can set up monitoring in Excel by extracting data from your real estate system and making your own calculations. In our guide, you will find tips on how to follow up in rental and marketing.
