Customer Story
How Property Brokers achieved a 103% NPS increase with SMS
Overview
Challenge: Property Brokers needed a more effective way to reach tenants for time-sensitive communications like rent arrears, inspections and notice-to-vacate reminders, while improving overall communication quality.
Solution: Sinch Engage enabled SMS within Palace so property managers could send fast, trackable reminders and updates throughout the tenancy cycle.
Results: A 103% increase in NPS, a 43% drop in rent arrears, a 25% reduction in vacancy rates and inspection completions rising from 71% to 90%.
“SMS works well, in the busy, busy world that we all live in. It’s just for the right type of communication. It’s a fantastic tool.“
In property management, communication is not a nice-to-have. It affects rent collection, inspections, vacancies and, ultimately, how tenants experience the service. For Property Brokers, SMS became one of the simplest ways to improve all four.
Property Brokers is a national real estate and property management business in New Zealand, with more than 80 branches, 6,500 properties and over 100 property managers. The team was already using Palace property management software to help manage communications across its portfolio, but saw an opportunity to tighten operations further by improving how tenants were reached. Will Alexander, the company’s former General Manager, viewed communication as one of the biggest persistent pain points in the industry, especially in a world where customers increasingly live on their phones.
That reality made SMS a practical fit. Compared with letters or email, text messages were more immediate and better aligned with how tenants actually communicated. Through Palace, Property Brokers could send quick reminders and updates at the key moments that shape the tenancy cycle, without adding friction for property managers.
A better way to manage time-sensitive tenant communication
Property Brokers used SMS with Sinch Engage (formerly MessageMedia) in several high-impact moments throughout the property journey. Friendly reminders went out for overdue rent, routine inspections and notice-to-vacate steps such as key returns. The business also saw broader potential for maintenance requests, lease renewals and other property-related communication where timing and visibility matter.
The appeal of SMS was not just speed. Because messages were sent through the CRM, records of communications were retained in the system, which also helped support property managers in the event of legal disputes. That gave the channel both an operational and administrative benefit.
Stronger outcomes across the tenancy cycle
The results were measurable. Friendly overdue rent reminders helped reduce rental arrears from 3% to 1.7%, a 43% decrease. Vacancy rates dropped from 2% to 1.5%, allowing the business to fill rental properties in an average of just four days. Inspection completions rose from 71% to 90%, helped by a simple text reminder sent one day before the scheduled visit.
Those gains mattered because they affected both service quality and operational efficiency. Better inspection attendance reduced exposure to potential insurance issues, while faster turnover between tenants helped properties return to market more quickly. SMS gave the team a reliable way to keep these moments moving.
Better communication, better service
Property Brokers also saw benefits that went beyond individual workflows. Alexander noted that saving even five seconds per communication can add up to a significant operational difference at scale. Over time, the business connected stronger communication practices with broader improvements across the organisation.
Customer satisfaction lifted as well. Over three years, Property Brokers increased its Net Promoter Score by 103% to reach 65, which the business said was well above the real estate industry average. For Property Brokers, SMS played an important role in that improvement by helping the team communicate more consistently and effectively with clients.
