10 Ways to Make Your Rental Listing Stand Out on MakaoMatch

By Makao Match Team

There are thousands of rental listings competing for the same tenants in Kenya, and most of them look and read the same. Making yours the one that gets clicked, viewed and rented quickly isn't about luck, it's about a handful of things done deliberately better than the listing next to yours.

Everything starts with photos, because they're your shopfront. Listings with five or more good pictures pull several times the inquiries of one with a couple of blurry shots, and you don't need a fancy camera, a clean phone lens and good daylight do it. Shoot in the daytime with the curtains open, tidy and declutter each room first, capture every space (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, balcony), and add an exterior shot so tenants can see the entrance and surroundings they'd be coming home to.

Then let the words do their job. Don't just list features, paint the picture: "Spacious 1-bedroom on the 4th floor with a balcony over green gardens, a five-minute walk to Java House, in a building with 24/7 borehole water and CCTV." Be precise about location too; "Kilimani, off Ngong Road, behind Yaya Centre" beats a bare "Kilimani" every time. And name what genuinely sets your place apart, since every listing claims "spacious rooms", borehole water, a backup generator, fibre-ready wiring, pet-friendliness, a ground-floor garden, included parking. Those specifics are what make a tenant stop scrolling.

Get the trust and pricing right, and move fast. Be honest and all-inclusive about the rent rather than springing a service charge at the viewing, it saves everyone's time and builds trust. Grab the verified badge; it takes two minutes and noticeably lifts inquiries. Price within about 5 to 10 percent of comparable local listings, and if you're higher, make sure your photos and description earn it. Then respond within the hour, because tenants inquire on several places at once and the first to reply usually wins. Keep the listing current, update the rent when it changes, mark the unit taken when it's gone, since stale listings quietly erode your credibility. And if you can, add a short walkthrough video; even a 30-second phone clip gives tenants far more confidence than photos alone, and Makao Match supports video uploads. A great listing doesn't just describe a property, it sells a life in it.