Dallas Property Manager Cuts Vacancy Period by 63%

The Hidden Cost of Vacancy

For property managers, every vacant day is a direct revenue loss. Apex Property Management's 40-unit Dallas portfolio was averaging 34 days of vacancy per unit turn — costing them an estimated $1,700 per unit in lost rent at their average monthly rate of $1,500.

The culprit wasn't pricing. It was photography. Their standard practice was to photograph units with whatever furniture remained — or none at all. The photos were technically accurate. They were also deeply uninspiring.

The Change

Apex began submitting every vacant unit to Listed. for virtual staging before relisting. They developed a standard set of angles for each unit type — 4–5 photos per vacancy. The process became routine: unit turns over, photos are submitted, staged images come back within 48 hours, listing goes live.

Within 6 months, their average vacancy period dropped from 34 days to 12. Across 40 units and multiple turn cycles, the recovered revenue from faster leasing was estimated at $68,000 annually.

“Prospective tenants today make decisions off photos. If your photos look like a storage unit, you're competing on price alone. Once we started staging, we stopped getting lowball inquiries and started getting qualified applicants.”

— D. Reyes, Director of Operations, Apex Property Management

The Math Is Simple

• ✦Average unit vacancy cost: $1,700/unit at 34 days
• ✦Average staged vacancy cost: $600/unit at 12 days
• ✦Staging cost per unit: $120–$180
• ✦Net savings per turn: approximately $920/unit — after staging costs