Where To Post Apartments for Rent or Sale For Free In New York

If you are trying to sell a home or rent out a property, it can be extremely difficult to find a way to advertise it for free or low cost. In real estate, it’s normal to see a lot of costs incurred to push a single deal through. Part of the many fees that come with selling your home is advertising fees, whether you're a real estate agent or a landlord. And sadly, this can take up a considerable chunk of change.

How Much Can It Cost To Post Listings For New York City Real Estate?

A quick look at some of the top sites on the net shows that you may need to spend as much as $25 to $50 per ad if you are trying to sell a home. Those ads add up—pun intended. If you choose to include an advertisement in the paper or a magazine, you might need to pay as much as $100 or more.

However, you don’t have to assume that you need to empty out your wallet to get the word out. These ad posting methods below might be the free way for you to find the perfect buyer or renter for your property.

About This List

PropertyNest wants to help people get the property transactions they want to be done without issue and at the lowest cost possible. That’s why we offer free listings on our site, no strings attached.

We looked through dozens of sites to list low-cost or free options when advertising your property.

Free or Low-Cost Listing Sites

• PropertyNest
• Craigslist
• Zillow
• Facebook Marketplace
• Oodle
• Apartments.com
• Zumper
• Nextdoor
• Patch

PropertyNest

PropertyNest offers real estate professionals, landlords, management companies, as well as private citizens to post listings for absolutely free. There is no membership or subscription required.

If you want to boost your listing in the search results, you can pay for credits to feature your listing, but this is entirely optional.

PropertyNest also lets you set what credit score you're looking for from a prospective renter. Users can find out right away if you have a good chance of qualifying for your listing so you're more likely to be matched with a good candidate.

Craigslist

Craigslist is a major part of finding an apartment in New York City. Everyone goes on this to find a bargain apartment or that new condo they want.

It’s good to know that Craigslist offers free postings in New York City for houses and condos that you want to sell. However, it’s not all free. Rental ads cost $5 a pop.

Zillow

Yes, it’s true. The real estate juggernaut known as Zillow does allow for a lot of free listings. Unfortunately, the number of people who can list on Zillow is very limited.

For the most part, this is only doable if you have an FSBO home to sell or if you just want to post a single rental ad. However, the visibility for this is amazing.

Facebook Marketplace

Though it’s nowhere near as formal as Zillow or PropertyNest, we’d be lying if we said that Facebook Marketplace wasn’t a potent marketing tool. All listings on Facebook Marketplace are free, and yes, real estate listings are included in that pool.

The problem, of course, is that you can’t always vet people who want to post. This leads many buyers into being skeptical. We can’t blame them!

Totally Free?

Yes.

Perks?

Wide visibility, easy to list, borough-specific

Problems?

Simple format, impossible to search well, can appear to be sketchy, high scammer rates

Verdict

Worth a shot, but shouldn’t be your #1

Connected Investors

If you have a property that you want to sell to investors, then you might want to look into Connected Investors. The prices that homes go for here are fairly affordable, so you won’t get a premium price in many cases.

This is a primarily investment-related site, so if you are looking into real estate investment, it’s worth a shot. Rental listings are not allowed, really.

Totally Free?

Yes, for listings.

Perks?

Active buyers, free listings, nice photos

Problems?

No rentals allowed, encourages predatory buying, investment only

Verdict

Good for sales, okay for rentals

Oodle

In a lot of ways, Oodle is like a newer version of Craigslist. There’s a fair amount of views on the site and posting stuff doesn’t cost a dime. It’s also super easy.

Much like Craigslist, users can search for what they want fairly quickly. It also happens to look a bit dated, though not as much as others. It’s also connected to Redfin, so you will get some good exposure.

Totally Free?

Yes.

Perks?

Active buyers, free listings, nice photos, Redfin connections

Problems?

Easy flagging, easy to get lost in the sea of ads

Verdict

Why not?

Homelister

Homelister is one of the newer ways to get the word out there, and technically it’s not free. Erm, well, it kind of is? This startup offers you free listings, but if you get your home sold through it, you have to pay a small fee.

So, it’s kind of results-oriented. The cool thing here is that it allows you to post to MLS and multiple top-rated sites risk-free. This reduces the “what if’s” for people who decide against paying for MLS listings. Should you sell your home through this, be careful. Fees can get high.

Totally Free?

Yes and no. It’s “pay only if you sell.”

Perks?

Active buyers, nice photos, MLS ties, results-based pricing

Problems?

High rates once you close on a house.

Verdict

Potentially worth it.

The Old Fashioned Flyer Route

I’m gonna be the devil’s advocate here. While it’s common enough to list your home online, the truth is that some of the best buyers aren’t found online. I can think of plenty of times when both my friends and I found apartments by driving past them or walking by a flyer.

If you’re willing to do a little legwork (literally), you can get a lot of eyes on your apartment by posting flyers throughout the area. New York City is, if nothing else, a flyer-centric type of town. So, it’s worth a shot.

Totally Free?

Yes and no. You need to pay for flyer paper.

Perks?

Active buyers, easy to do, local market only.

Problems?

Lots of work.

Verdict

It’s an option, especially for rentals

Which Free Listing Site Is Right For You?

Here’s the cool thing about free listing sites: you don’t have to choose just one!

Listing your home should be an easy process with all the sites in question. The more sites you list your property on, the better your chances are of success. Free listings means you don’t have to choose just one. You might as well snag as many sites as you need to in order to grab that sale.

Is Paying For A Listing Worth It?

Honestly, it depends. Sometimes, it might make sense to pay for a listing. However, in most cases, you really don’t need to. We’re past the point where most people will need to pay to get a home sold.

How Do You Make A Good House Listing?

Home listings are meant to get your foot in the door, not sell the house for you. So it’s important to know what to include when you are putting together your listing. Let’s talk about the basics.

Photos

When you post a listing, photos are a must. How else are people going to fall in love with your home? You should try to have at least three to five high quality, accurate, and clear photos of your home in the listing. The more, the better off you will be.

Most listings will need at least one shot of the exterior, as well as one to two shots of the interior. Having your photos staged and well-lit will get you the best results. After all, appearances are everything here.

The Basic Information

Every listing should include a handful of important details that will help people decide whether or not they want to bother. This includes:

• The Price
• Additional Monthly Fees (If Any)
• The Type of Property It Is
• The Number of Bedrooms
• The Number of Bathrooms
• Square Footage
• Parking Details

Amenities

Along with the nuts and bolts of your listing, you also need to add in some amenities. If you have central air, a safe neighborhood, a pool, or a doorman, these things can be major selling points. In fact, some people might even search for listings by amenities.

Contact Information

Finally, you will need to give the person a way to contact you about their questions. This includes giving your name (or real estate agent’s name), phone number, and available hours for chatting.

Conclusion

There’s a pervasive belief that real estate agents, landlords, and FSBO sellers all have to pay money to get the clients they need. This is just not true. As these top-rated sites and methods show, you don’t have to push money out at first in order to get the clients you want. So, go ahead. Give free listings a try. You might be shocked at what you find.