From iBuying to iRenting: Innovation in residential real estate

Within the past five years, the process of selling a home has undergone a radical transformation ignited by the  “iBuyer” —  a real estate company that buys and sells properties using technology. Opendoor created the category back in 2014. Several fellow technology-driven companies like Zillow, OfferPad, and RedFin have entered the space since.

The proposition of iBuyers is quite simple and rather compelling: Sell us your home at a reasonable price without all the hassle, then we’ll fix it up and resell it for a margin. This is likely why, according to Mike DelPrete’s 2020 iBuyer Report, the niche doubled in market share from 2017 to 2018 and again in 2019 — representing over 0.5% of U.S. home sales.

While this technology-led phenomenon has turned homebuying on its head, similar innovation has not yet reached the other side of the housing market: residential rentals. Enter REZI, a real estate technology company with the mission to adopt and transform iBuying into a new category: iRenting.

Property owners have various costs embedded into the traditional leasing process: including agent fees, tenant concessions, and listing timelines (days on market). These hidden costs can result in a difference between asking rents and effective rents for a newly vacant apartment of up to 35%. iRenting, however, increases net effective rents as iRenters’ technology reduces these hidden costs. Not only do owners earn more per unit, but they also avoid taking any credit risk of individual tenants. The iRenter becomes the property owner’s tenant and assumes the risk of finding long-term tenants to sublet the apartments.

As an iRenter, REZI empowers property owners and tenants to rent apartments more efficiently. For property owners, REZI’s offer is equally compelling as iBuyers’ to homeowners: lease your apartment to REZI for guaranteed monthly rent, with no vacancy downtime or tenant credit risk.

Unlike the iBuying model, REZI’s iRenter model does not include fixing up, flipping, furnishing, or changing the space. Instead, it leverages a suite of AI-powered technology to fix the leasing experience itself to create additional value through minimizing or eliminating vacancy and placement costs. By utilizing data-driven pricing, personalized omnichannel marketing, contactless tours, automated due diligence, and digital leasing, REZI is able to significantly reduce leasing costs and pass on a portion of the savings to property owners.

As seen by the example above, REZI can generate 10-20% more income over each vacant lease’s term. REZI keeps a percentage of the additional income while passing on the remainder to property owners by paying them a higher net effective rent than what they receive through a traditional leasing process.

Additionally, owners who use iRenters also minimize the operational headache of finding and qualifying tenants. Just like how iBuying simplifies the complex details of selling a home, iRenting automates leasing so property owners can focus on high-value tasks like raising capital, making capital improvements, or expanding their portfolios.

In a market defined by uncertainty and high costs, iRenters like REZI offer property owners certainty and higher income. As property owners look to better manage vacancies and operational costs coming out of the pandemic, these solutions provide seamless access to optimal rental income. The power of the iRenter model has the potential to revolutionize renting, similar to the impact of iBuying in the housing market today.

Learn more about REZI and how iRenting can improve portfolio performance by visiting leasing.rentrezi.com.