Speed To Tour Wins In A High Vacancy Market

Vacancy climbed again while national rents dipped in October. That is your signal to compete on time. When price softens, speed between click and door becomes the amenity residents feel first. Apartment List reports the national median rent at $1,381 in October, down 0.8% month over month and 0.9% year over year. Their vacancy index is sitting at a series high around 7.1%–7.2%, reflecting abundant supply and slower absorption.

What the latest pulse signals

• A softer rent print does not mean demand is gone. It means shoppers have options and take longer to act.

• With vacancy at a modern high, your battle is converting scheduled interest into completed tours, then into approvals.

• Absorption cooled in Q3 after a record run, which makes each lost day more expensive.

Why time beats price this quarter

Shoppers are still out there. They just take longer to act because supply is abundant and comparisons are easy. RealPage shows absorption cooling in Q3 from a record Q2 run, so every slow handoff costs more than it did a few months ago. 

Where the minutes disappear

• No show loopLong gaps between inquiry and first slot, weak reminders, no self access fallback.

• Key chasing and locked doorsA single set of keys, thin onsite coverage, doors that cannot be shown after hours.

• Make ready dragVendors wait outside units, reschedules because no one can unlock, punch lists that block touring.

The three KPIs that actually move occupancy

• Completed tours over scheduled. Treat it as the conversion that matters during a high vacancy cycle.

• Minutes from lead to first door open. Monitor median by asset type.

• Days vacant per turn. Garden, mid rise, and high rise should be tracked separately.

Five practical moves for faster tours

1. Open wider tour windows that include early morning, evening, and weekends.

2. Offer instant self guided access using narrow, time bound credentials with a simple ID precheck.

3. Move identity checks into scheduling to avoid arrival friction.

4. Set make ready SLAs and issue expiring vendor credentials so work does not stall.

5. If a unit is ready, approve today and move in today.

A quick operator example

A scattered site portfolio with lean staffing added off hour self guided slots and vendor windows. Completed tour rate jumped by double digits and days vacant per turn fell. Use a simple before and after chart in your deck to make this real for leadership.

Risks and how to handle them

Use short access windows, ID prechecks, and logged entries for safety. Keep a tour ready checklist so subpar units do not show. Include quiet hour reminders in confirmations.

• Apartment List shows vacancy at a record for their series and rents easing. That is a time problem more than a pricing problem.

• Absorption cooled from the Q2 peak which makes slow handoffs expensive.

Bottom line

Move faster than the property across the street. Widen windows. Remove keys from the process. Track completion rate over scheduled tours. Your goal is fewer empty days without racing to the bottom on price.