They both sound like good applications.

I have leased houses to many young people. They are usually great with taking care of the houses and you always have the bond to fall back on if there is some damage. It's a bonus that they already rent through the same agent and must have a great record with them. The only thing I found with housemates is that sometimes one of them ends up moving out for work, uni etc. So then you/real estate have to go through the same reference checks etc for the incoming tenant and sometimes they may not be "as good" as the previous tenant. Just a thought, might not happen but there is always a chance it could.

The other couple sound nice too. It's quite often hard to lease a place when you're living a fair way away. We have had to do it a couple of times and it's hard, no one really wants to take you on. Obviously as long as the agent has checked out their previous references etc. they seem like a good option too.

I know that when we had good tenants that had been renting through us, we would try and hold on to them and put them in a house first before another applicant as we knew their history etc. Sorry, my post is a bit this way then that way but just wanted to give my opinion on both

Good luck deciding!