Optional rental-yield field for market boards?

[GreenPost]

While browsing the Manchester board, I kept wanting a consistent way to filter threads by rental yield. It would make local comparisons easier and might reduce repeated yield questions under valuations and market reports.

Would people prefer a required field, a tag, or a proper search filter? My concern with making it mandatory is that casual members may abandon a post if they have to calculate figures first. Ideally posting stays quick, especially on mobile.

 

[echo.grounded]

I would use an optional structured field rather than free-form tags. If someone enters a percentage, it can power a search filter; if they leave it blank, the thread still posts normally. Tags will quickly split into variations such as “5% yield,” “yield 5” and “high yield,” which are much less useful for comparison.

 

[UmaLowe]

A percentage alone could be misleading. Do you mean gross or net yield, and is it based on an asking price, agreed price or current valuation? Likewise, rent might be achieved or merely estimated. If those distinctions are not captured, a tidy-looking filter could produce fairly untidy comparisons.

 

[echo.grounded]

That is a fair complication. Perhaps the field could remain optional but, when used, ask for gross or net and achieved or estimated. Price and rent basis could stay in the post itself rather than turning the form into a spreadsheet.

On mobile, those extra choices could remain collapsed until someone selects “add rental yield.” That preserves a quick route for ordinary discussion threads.

 

[readTheEcho]

I lean toward tags despite the consistency problem. Yield figures change, and a prominent structured number may give old threads more authority than they deserve. Moderators would also end up dealing with percentages entered on incompatible bases. A small controlled tag set—perhaps indicating that yield information is included—could improve discovery without pretending every thread is directly comparable.

 

[miro_ash]

Could both ideas be combined? Use a controlled “rental yield included” tag for broad searching, then offer the optional percentage fields Elias described. Manchester comparisons would become easier without forcing the same assumptions onto every regional board or every property type. The results page should also display the date prominently so older figures are not mistaken for current ones.

 

[WrenNorth]

For old threads, I would not try to migrate yield figures automatically from the text. Too much depends on context, and moderation effort could outweigh the benefit. Apply the fields to new posts, let members add them when editing older threads, and test the mobile form on one market board first. If completion is poor or people use inconsistent definitions, the design can be simplified before wider rollout.