Rental agents: here are 3 success strategies for 2026

Over the last four years, PayProp’s Customer Success Team has carried out thousands of site visits to rental agencies to help clients create ever smarter workflows, and mine their business and market shifts for hidden growth opportunities.  

And as they can testify, there’s nothing like a hands-on approach to find out what’s working and what isn’t in a fast-moving rental market.

So what do they see coming down the track in 2026?

Sarah Fourie, Head of Client Services – Above all, be authentic

The most successful property practitioners in 2026 will be those who invest in their personal brand, producing authentic content that shows their own unique insights. The market will favour professionals who are visible, relatable and intentional about building trust beyond the transaction.

With AI-generated content everywhere you look, consumers are becoming increasingly skilled at spotting what feels generic or artificial. This will widen the gap between practitioners who rely only on automation and the ones who use it wisely, to amplify rather than replace their personal touch.

AI will become more and more powerful as an enabler in just about all business areas – especially operations, risk management, client servicing and marketing – but it will not be the differentiator. Clients will prefer working with practitioners who feel real, credible and genuinely invested in their needs.

Johan Burger, Senior Success Manager – Maximise every tenancy

Analysis of our FY25 data reveals a striking trend in South Africa’s rental market: revenue growth is increasingly outpacing tenancy growth for PayProp clients.

In other words, agencies are recovering more cost per tenancy. That’s partly driven by higher-value units, but the biggest gains have been made by agencies that have also modernised their fee structures. Agencies that monetise admin and inspections and bill for value-added services can increase their rate of growth to around three times that of agencies charging only commission.

Looking ahead to 2026, the market trajectory is clear: fee optimisation and value-based billing will define high-performing agencies. Those that adapt are likely to sustain strong revenue growth, attract quality tenants and efficiently manage high-value portfolios. The flipside is also true: Agencies that maintain outdated fee structures risk stagnation and underperformance.

Cathi Geyser, Client Success Manager – Invest in technology

The gap between agencies that embrace PropTech and those that do not is widening as always, but faster.

Top agencies are increasingly turning to technology solutions to power their businesses, and they’re reaping the rewards in market share and operational efficiency. Meanwhile, agencies who won’t digitise their processes are increasingly feeling the pressure. Many are joining forces with franchises or larger agencies to access the PropTech they lack in-house.

In 2026, success will belong to businesses that invest in PropTech to underpin efficiency and redirect time and resources toward higher-value service.

What the new year will reward

Doing more of the same won’t cut it in 2026. The agencies that stand out will be the ones who really know their market, stay true to who they are, evolve their revenue models and back it all with the right technology will be the ones that rise above the noise.