Leasing funnel metrics small landlords should track
Five numbers tell a small landlord almost everything about a leasing season: how fast you reply, what share of inquiries book a showing, what share of booked showings happen, what share of tours apply, and how many days the unit sat empty. Count them for each vacancy, compare vacancies with each other, and fix the stage with the biggest drop first.
The five numbers
| Metric | How to count it | If it is low |
|---|---|---|
| Reply time | Hours from inquiry to your first real reply | Saved replies, a set check time |
| Showing rate | Showings booked divided by inquiries | Clearer listing, better first reply |
| Show-up rate | Showings held divided by showings booked | Confirmation and a reminder |
| Application rate | Applications divided by showings held | Next-day follow-up, check price |
| Days vacant | Days from move-out to lease start | Look at every stage above |
Resist adding more. Five numbers you actually look at beat twenty you do not.
A worked example
Example a made-up vacancy. 40 inquiries came in. 16 booked a showing, so the showing rate is 16 of 40, or 40 percent. 12 of the 16 showed up, a show-up rate of 75 percent. 5 of the 12 applied, an application rate of about 42 percent. 1 signed. The unit was empty for 21 days.
Reading it: the weakest link is the 25 percent of booked showings that did not happen (4 of 16). A confirmation and one reminder is the cheapest fix. The next is the 58 percent of tours that did not apply (7 of 12), where a same-day follow-up helps.
A different vacancy, with a 70 percent showing rate but a 20 percent application rate, would point to the price or the unit, not your replies.
Read them with care
- Small numbers swing widely. Six inquiries is not a pattern. Look at several vacancies before changing your plan.
- A low application rate may be a good sign if your pre-qualifying questions filter people out before they apply.
- Do not compare yourself to numbers from other markets. There is no one benchmark, and no published figure applies to every town.
- Never use these numbers to profile people. They measure your process, not the prospects.
Match each weak number to a fix
- Slow replies: set a reply standard and an instant acknowledgement.
- Few showings from many inquiries: check the listing for missing facts, price and photos. See troubleshooting a listing with no inquiries.
- Many no-shows: confirm and remind.
- Few applications after tours: follow up the same day and review the rent against similar units.
- Long vacancy despite all of that: lower the price or improve the unit; see days vacant.
A simple way to record the counts
Keep a single sheet per vacancy with one line per lead and six yes-or-no columns: replied in target, showing booked, showing held, applied, signed, and a source. At the end of the vacancy, count the yeses in each column and write the five numbers at the top. Put the vacancy's start and end dates beside them. Keep the sheets together, so next spring you can compare this vacancy with the last one and see whether your fixes worked. Change one thing at a time between vacancies, such as adding a reminder or rewriting the first reply, so that when a number moves you know which change moved it. Write the change at the top of the sheet with the date. If two things changed at once, you cannot tell which one helped, and a gain from the season itself can look like a gain from your work.
How DoorKeeping handles it
Because DoorKeeping keeps each lead's stage, showing and outcome, the counts above come from your own records. Ask Claude or ChatGPT: "For the Oak Street unit, how many inquiries became showings, and how many days was it vacant?" You get the numbers without building a sheet. See listings.
Sources
Questions
- What leasing metrics should a small landlord track?
- Reply time, showing rate, show-up rate, application rate and days vacant. They show which stage loses the most leads.
- What is a good application rate after a showing?
- There is no single benchmark that fits every market. Compare your own vacancies over time and look for changes.
- How do I calculate days vacant?
- Count the days from the tenant's move-out to the new lease's start date. Rent not collected in that period is your vacancy loss.