What is “Girls’ Leasing,” a new type of real estate business that “lets you look around like you’re on a date

It is said that there are more businesses in the real estate industry than there are convenience stores. This fall, a new real estate brokerage service is attracting attention for its new strategy: “You can look at houses as if you were on a date with a girl. This is the real estate rental brokerage service “girls rentals,” which was officially released in late September 2010.

Users of girlsRentals can choose a rental house after discussing their desired property via an online conference application such as ZOOM, and then viewing candidate properties with a female staff member they have appointed. We spoke with Mr. T (a male in his 40s) who actually used this service.

I found out about this service when I saw a video on TikTok showing a girl from girlsRentals giving a room tour. I thought that if I were going to go through the trouble of looking at apartments, I would prefer to do it with a cute girl, so I decided to use this service.

I was looking for a place near Shinjuku, so I met her at Shinjuku West Exit and previewed three places. I was nervous before we met, but we talked about our impressions in a conversation like, “How did you like the property you just saw? During the viewing, I asked her where she would like to put the TV. During the viewing, we naturally had conversations like, “Where would you like to put the TV? During the previews, we would ask questions such as, ‘Where would you put the TV?

The strategy of girls rental is to provide added value not through the property itself, but through the people who guide the clients. Behind the success of this strategy is the system of ” Raines,” a real estate information network used by rental brokers. Housing journalist Junji Sakaki explains as follows.

Raines is a network that all real estate agents can use to share property information. Most real estate agents make introductions from properties registered in Raines, so there is no major difference in the properties introduced to you no matter which real estate agent you go to. Rental brokerage services are an industry where it is difficult to differentiate yourself by the properties you introduce.

Seeing is believing. Our reporter also had a chance to inspect a property with a staff member from girlsRentals. We were shown to a high-rise condominium just a 10-minute walk from Shinagawa Station, which also has access to a sky lounge. Upon entering the room, the staff gave her advice, including from a woman’s perspective, such as “the storage space may be a bit small,” and “the large mirror makes it easy to get ready, which may be nice for you as a woman.

We spoke with Hina, a staff member at girls’ lease who showed us around.

She said, “I used to be a dental hygienist. I was a novice in real estate knowledge, but I was able to learn what I needed to know for previews during the three training sessions. I am most happy when I am able to communicate with a client and get a satisfying apartment search.

I have had people worry that it might be dangerous to be alone with a client, but the company provides me with security equipment, and I call the head office staff after each preview, so I can go about my work without feeling anxious!

The response to the girls’ rental program has been overwhelmingly positive, mainly through SNS, and more than 60 contracts have been signed in the first month since the program was launched. At the same time, however, “Ideally, we would like to close contracts with as little cost as possible for rentals that can be fully remote, with 3D previews, contracts, and explanations of important matters provided online. The girls rental management company, Xst Corporation, has a harsh view of the industry, saying , “Reducing advertising costs is the best way to reduce the cost of girls’ rentals.

We believe that reducing advertising costs will be one of the girls-rental business’s weapons. The aim is for each girl to post room tour videos on TikTok and Instagram, and for customers who see them to use the service. In fact, I think it would have been difficult for a regular real estate agent to get this kind of response. Of course, our greatest weapon is the ‘people’ who introduce the properties, so we want to differentiate ourselves in that area as well.

In order to prevent people who are looking for a date with a girl and do not intend to search for a property from viewing it, they are also taking steps such as asking for identification at the time of the pre-meeting.

About a month has passed since its official release. Will the new girls’ rental service be a game-changer in the rapidly changing real estate industry?