Industry News | Wk of Jan 15

HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

Facebook to show more content from friends, less from publishers and brands
Facebook apparently needs to be “fixed,” which is exactly what the social media platform’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg is hoping to accomplish in 2018. The Facebook News Feed we all spend so much time on, gathering real and fake news alike, has changed its algorithm to prioritize posts from friends, family members and groups rather than posts from publishers and brands. This will be a huge, undesirable change for businesses and professionals that rely on Facebook to spread and promote content, including information for apartment communities. Read the article by Seth Fiegerman and Laurie Segall on CNN.

Bitcoin Now Has Bit Part in the Apartment Industry
Several apartment firms now accept bitcoin, both for rental payments and property transactions. This is an attempt to cash in on the bitcoin craze, despite the increasingly volatile market for the uber-hip cryptocurrency. Through November, bitcoin had appreciated nearly 1000 percent over the past year. Among the communities that accepting bitcoin for rental payment is City Stables in Baltimore, where 2.5 bitcoin can cover one year of rent upfront for a one-bedroom apartment home. Read Paul Bergeron’s article in UNITS magazine.

IN THE NEWS

Seven Big Issues for 2018: Apartment Executives Weigh In
Several strong multifamily trends are blowing through the industry. What can we expect in 2018 with demographic changes on the horizon and a constant flow of innovative new technology and software products that shape modern-day leasing? Among the trends, there will be more of a focus on increasing onsite staff retention, a war to provide the best amenity packages, investing in the right types of technology – such as the cutting-edge block chaining – and different ways for apartment to coexist with Airbnb. Read Les Shaver’s article in UNITS Magazine.

Watch For The Rise Of Suburbia And More In 2018
As if the multifamily industry wasn’t changing enough, there are two “interesting shifts” that are slated to happen in the upcoming year. It has been talked about plenty in recent months that aging millennials moving are moving to the suburbs, but will this stem the robust trend of urban living and working? David Rabin, managing director of private real estate for CenterSquare, believes so. He also predicts the appeal of big box industrial investment will taper in 2018. Read Jennifer LeClaire’s article on GlobeSt.

Gaining Employee Buy-In When Rolling Out a New Technology or Program
Although technology is constantly evolving in the multifamily industry, not every employee is bound to enjoy the implantation of new innovations. But there are steps companies can take to help foster employee buy-in. Those include finding employees who will champion the changes, effectively preparing the employees for any forthcoming changes, providing ongoing training and being open to feedback from the team. The latter can include surveys and an open-door policy to talk about the changes. That’s according ROSS director of human resources Terry Brewer’s Multifamily Insiders blog.