9 Rental Advertising Websites That Are Actually Worth Your Time

In 2016, about 26% of Americans rented their home. That’s a quarter of the population renting!

If you’re getting started in the rental industry, you’re probably wondering how to go about advertising your rentals. Which sites are worth your time and which ones can you just skip on over?

Our review of the top 12 will help you get started with your rental advertising.

1. Zillow

Zillow isn’t just for selling and buying homes. They also have the Zillow rental Manager. This is perfect for those property managers who have less than 50 units.

You can create a detailed listing for each of your units. Then those listings get pushed out to 26 different partner sites.

2. HotPads

Renters love this site because it’s the first map-based rental search. You can refine your search by a custom geographical area or drive time from your new home to work.

This site is very popular with corporate housing people. This means that if you’re renting out homes your listings will stand out.

You also get the ability to customize your desired tenant. This helps you save time in finding the perfect tenants for your rental.

3. Rentbits

This site offers houses for rent in major cities across the country. They also have an apartment search feature.

For landlords, they offer a plug and play solution to seamlessly integrate into your current inventory software. This includes Entrata, RentCafe, and RealPage.

They also offer managing and reporting abilities. This gives you a one-stop shop for managing your rental business from start to finish. It also helps you to know if your marketing efforts are paying off.

4. Facebook

The social media marketplace actually has a place for rental homes. This places your listing right on social media ready for easy sharing.

You can upload 360-degree photos giving potential tenants an enticing tour of your home. Facebook will also connect and show your listing on Oodle.

5. Craigslist

Sure, this online listings board tends to get a bad rap, but it’s hard to argue with 50 billion views a month. No, the site isn’t pretty and there are potential scammers.

However, those things aside, it is a great site to get a ton of exposure for your rental. With a few precautionary steps, you can easily avoid any unscrupulous tenants.

6. Trulia

With this site, you have the potential of screening out potential tenants from the start. Those applicants who register with the site have their application information shown right away along with contact information.

This will help you sort through applicants faster.

7. Rentals.com

This site is one of the largest rentals listing sites out there. They offer the listing ability for homes, condos, lofts, duplexes, and pretty much anything else.

Landlords can customize their listings with images and specific details. The site will flag your home as available with your contact information. This encourages people to call you and inquire about your listing.

8. Zumper

Some renters like to know more information about the surrounding community. Listing your rental home on this site will give potential applicants more information about the community around your home.

There is information about the neighborhood and local city. The initial listing will be quite minimal. It’s the detailed listings that get robust and let you add all kinds of details.

9. Lovely

This is another map-based rental search website following in the steps of Hotpads. This site has a simple and clean graphic design making it pleasant to use.

The map will have new listings in red, making it easy for renters to locate new listings. This is a benefit for landlords as their new listing is less likely to get lost in the fray.

Other information about the property is displayed in a clean bullet point list. This means that potential tenants can find what they need easily. This makes it more likely for them to find your listing.

10. Airbnb

If you’re open to short-term rentals then Airbnb is the way to go. This site focuses more on vacation rentals than long-term, permanent home rentals.

11. People With Pets

Often those renters that have pets have the toughest time finding a home to rent. If you’re open to tenants with pets then this is a great way to make you rentals stand out.

The site is free to use for renters, but they do charge landlords. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. By using a site like this one you can target a specific market making your advertising more effective.

12. Move

This site is used by 40 million people who are looking to rent or buy. There is a focus on providing a one-stop shop type of service.

They provide a listing database on topics including pets, finances, decorating, and moving. This makes it a valuable resource for renters. Because of this, your listing gets more credibility through association.

Rental Advertising

When deciding on rental advertising, you want to choose the sites that fit your needs the best. Look for a site that is easy for you to manage – you don’t want to waste of a ton of time managing listings on a bunch of different sites.

You also want to use the sites that give you the most bang for your buck. That doesn’t necessarily mean the site with the most traffic. It means you want the site with the most amount of traffic by people that qualify as potential tenants for you.

Do you know the 5 lessons you can learn from the top real estate developers? Check them out here!