If you’ve ever questioned how much houses and flats rent for in a specific location – whether you’re seeking to rent a property yourself or invest in a rental property – you may have come across Rentometer, a free online tool.
Rentometer is a tool that does investment property analysis and estimates rent values in the local neighborhood of a property. You only need to input the property address, the monthly rent price, and the number of bedrooms in the rental unit.
However, we wanted to give you an in-depth review regarding Rentometer accuracy and how it compares to Mashvisor.
How Does Rentometer Work?
Rentometer is a Boston-based company. It was purchased in April 2012 by an ownership group led by Mike Lapsley, a seasoned veteran of the rental housing market. According to the firm’s site, it is the main sponsor of the Independent Rental Owners Committee, a subgroup of the National Apartment Association.
Rentometer for houses is an online platform that utilizes proprietary technologies to provide consumers with a comparison of rents in a specific market. According to the firm, it is the “go-to tool for credible rent data for apartments, condos, and single-family houses” since it has generated over 15 million rent comparison analyses.
Rentometer is an easy-to-use online tool. To get comparable rents in your region, simply input your property address, the number of bedrooms in your unit, and a monthly rent estimate. The website will then compare your information to similar listings in the region, providing figures and visual data on how your home and rent compared to similar properties.
Rentometer Accuracy: Where Does Rentometer Get Its Data?
Rentometer states that its analyses are selected using proprietary technology and data, and therefore, it does not reveal much information about the source of its data. However, the company states that it obtains data from various sources, including mass syndicated data, exclusive rental data gathered through surveys, and user-generated information.
Rentometer gathers information from across the country daily. Because much of this information is derived from rental listings, it reflects rental asking costs more than actual rents gained by landlords. Therefore, regarding Rentometer accuracy, the sole disadvantage of obtaining this information from public listings (note, IF that is the source) is that public listings reflect the landlord’s desired rent price for the property, not the actual rent charged.
Rentometer Review: The Full Breakdown
When it comes to Rentometer accuracy, Rentometer claims to gather data daily and to use only the most current real estate data in the reports it generates for consumers. Therefore, several data points may be associated with a particular property, but only the most recent data is shown in reports. As a result, Rentometer “resets” daily.
When it comes to Rentometer cost, Rentometer gives each customer three free reports. After that, the company requires customers to upgrade to a premium Pro membership, including unlimited reports, additional data points, and more detailed information.
Rentometer offers a free trial to all of its clients, including five free Pro Rent reports. For individuals interested in running additional reports or drilling down deeper to learn more about rental costs on comparable homes to yours or in your neighborhood, the company provides a paid Pro service.
Rentometer Pro provides unrestricted access to property analyses, batch analysis, neighborhood searches, Zipcode lookup, custom report labeling, rent analysis reports, and map representations for $99 annually. Additionally, the Pro plan includes additional reporting features such as a summary report for one to four bedrooms, professional print formatting, the option to download to Excel, and more detailed property information than the free plan.
Rentometer: How Reliable Is It?
Many property owners may question the Rentometer accuracy since the company gives comparison data based on only three items of data – your property address, the monthly rent price, and the number of bedrooms. However, many property owners are aware that much more than just three data factors go into deciding a home’s rent.
As a result, Rentometer’s statistics and data cannot be considered reliable if you’re seeking precise, 100% correct data. There is far more that goes into establishing the correct rent level for a property, such as the number of bathrooms, the type of property, the square footage, the age of the asset, whether pets are permitted, what amenities are offered and included, whether gadgets are on-site, the season, and accessible parking, to name a few.
Real Estate Data Analytics: Mashvisor as Superior Option
As we can see, Rentometer accuracy is doubtful, so we are here to help you make the best possible decision when searching for the best real estate data tool.
Mashvisor’s service assists real estate investors in two directions. To begin, it helps them in locating potential investment properties. Second, it assists them in analyzing those properties to establish their potential as both long-term rental properties and short-term vacation rentals.
Investors interested in long-distance real estate purchases will be amazed by the company’s Property Finder tool. With a single click, users may navigate from a city overview of available homes to detailed information about a specific property, including images, descriptions, the listing price, and other pertinent information. In addition, members can quickly search the database and locate properties based on specified financial targets by city, neighborhood, street address, or zip code.
The search outcomes: a simple street map with each property precisely recognized, complete with physical and financial details. Additionally, the software allows for side-by-side evaluations of prospective acquisitions.
Mashvisor Investment Property Calculator and More
The Mashvisor database is regularly updated via data feeds from numerous sources, such as the Multiple Listing Service, Zillow, and Realtor.com. Additionally, the company obtains data from its partners:
- Airbnb
- Roofstock
- Auction.com
The Airbnb rental and occupancy data enable a prospective purchaser to compare short-term and long-term real estate investment strategies for each location, a data point not accessible in most competitor real estate analytics services. So when speaking about Rentometer accuracy, Mashvisor is in the lead as it has more reliable sources and many factors included in the analysis.
Certain service customers inquire whether the property inventory is complete compared to the source data. While some exclusions are inevitable when dealing with vast amounts of continually changing data, the property inventory remains robust and comprehensive compared to rival services such as Rentometer’s!
Although the property search method will be familiar to seasoned residential investors, the range of the search function, the details provided for each home, and the convenience of use are all excellent. The primary benefit of the service is a significant amount of time saved in the procedure of locating suitable properties.
The search function’s color-coded “Heatmap” is particularly useful. Clients can sort the database by a specific metric such as listing price, cap rate, return on investment (cash on cash return), with outcomes for neighborhoods highlighted in “red” for low values and “green” for high values. So, for instance, a potential buyer might look for properties that are green in terms of cash on cash return and red in terms of market pricing.
A customer with distinct search criteria has complete control over the search metrics. For instance, an investor can easily transition from a cash purchase to a mortgage (and opposite) using different down payments, terms, and interest rates to observe the effect on rates of return.
Mashvisor: Property Analysis
The properties found by the Property Finder should be further investigated to determine whether they meet a specific investor’s minimal return requirement. Usually, the process begins with creating a spreadsheet outlining potential profits, expenses, and cash flows.
Creating a customized spreadsheet or fill-in-the-blanks template for individuals unfamiliar with spreadsheets might be a challenging undertaking. The Property Analysis tool from Mashvisor employs a mathematical formula designed specifically for residential real estate investors. Its structure outlines the primary revenue and spending categories required to compute net operating income and, ultimately, rates of return and cap rates.
Calculation errors occur because investors frequently overestimate income and underestimate expenditures. The model reduces the likelihood of distortions by updating revenue figures with data acquired via the Property Search function and estimating initial and ongoing costs using averages for comparables in the database. In addition, the software enables users to customize each piece to produce a spreadsheet that more correctly forecasts future outcomes based on their experience.
Additionally, Mashvisor’s analysis modeling assists investors in determining the optimal use of a potential property. It contrasts the returns on short-term Airbnb rentals with those on long-term leases. Short-term rentals are not always the best investment in some areas! The Property Analysis model successfully converts a typically chaotic project into a beautiful, simply understandable, and auditable outcome that enables investors to make the best investment decision.
Rentometer vs Mashvisor: The Final Judgement
If you want to go a little deeper and gather additional information about rental pricing in your neighborhood, Rentometer Pro may be worth exploring. There are various features that a pro account unlocks that are not part of the free edition of the service, but just a couple of them are worth noting.
On the other hand, when it comes to Rentometer accuracy, can you genuinely enter three pieces of data and have 100% confidence in the results? The answer is no. While each of these factors has a significant impact on the rental price of a home, it still leaves out a lot of critical information that must be considered if you want an accurate, trustworthy estimate.
And when we are talking about accuracy, Mashvisor is one of the most widely used – and, objectively, best – platforms for finding short-term rental apartments. It allows short-term rental owners to maximize their strategy by providing data on rental income and property values in the region. Additionally, Mashvisor’s tools enable you to monitor vacancy rates, neighborhood pricing, and year-over-year trends.
Mashvisor’s tools make it easy to determine the optimal rental prices and maximize your return on investment by conducting an in-depth market study. Additionally, you may determine what is vital to the users of the rentals and emphasize that – as well as locate the finest locations to invest in right now!
The services are reasonably priced and represent an excellent investment in maximizing the value of your property – ensuring that you never again lose out on a golden chance!
Conclusion
Despite the cautions above regarding Rentometer’s dependability, the site remains a good resource for obtaining a broad overview of comparable properties in your area. It will not provide you with a precise suggested price for your rental home, but it will provide you with an insight into the market you are in and what others are requesting for their rentals.
Regarding Rentometer accuracy, many investors like a more precise forecast and recommendation for their property. However, this is still useful information to have prior to conducting a more in-depth study. Rentometer can then be used to assist you in determining how much you could demand and collect for your rental property.
However, despite the abundance of options available – each with unique abilities aimed at increasing your return on investment via substantial data – we must conclude that the Mashvisor tools continue to outperform them all, and in this case, Rentometer.
Mashvisor enables property owners to monitor their short- and long-term rentals, research new properties to purchase, and manage their finances – providing Mashvisor’s product a distinct edge. Investors can use tools such as the Neighborhood Analytics tool and the Airbnb Calculator to determine the performance of their investment homes. Furthermore, the Property Finder feature assists investors in locating properties in the neighborhood of their choice.
To gain access to all of these features, go here to sign up for a free seven-day trial of Mashvisor, followed by a lifetime discount of 15%!