In Practice
Cost per lease answers a plain question: what did it cost us to sign one resident? Take what you spent on marketing and leasing for the month, divide by the leases signed, and you have the number. It is one of the clearest ways to see whether your marketing money is working.
Leasing teams and regional managers see it in the monthly marketing report and the budget review. It is the number that explains why an owner asks to cut a listing package or move money to a different source. Track it by source too: a lower cost per lease from one listing site than another tells you where to put the next dollar.
Example: a property spends $4,500 in a month on listings, ads, signage and a photographer, and signs 15 leases. The cost per lease is $300. If a different month cost $6,000 for the same 15 leases, something changed, and you want to know what before the owner asks.
Common mistake: counting only ad spend and ignoring concessions, leasing bonuses and the tools you pay for. Decide what is in the number, write it down, and keep it the same month to month so the trend is honest.
How to calculate it
Cost per lease equals total marketing and leasing spend divided by new leases signed. Example only: $3,600 spent and 12 leases signed gives $300 per lease.
Cost per Lease: Common Questions
How do you calculate cost per lease?
Add up marketing and leasing costs for a period, then divide by the number of new leases signed in that period. Keep the same cost items in every month so you can compare.
What is a good cost per lease?
It depends on rent level, market and unit type. A better benchmark than a general number is your own trend over time and your cost by lead source.
