Industry News | Week of August 19

HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

AI and Leasing Agents Go Hand-in-Hand

Artificial intelligence continues to become a valuable tool in the leasing process, and recent efforts by MYND Property Management provide a snapshot as to why. A proprietary machine-learning algorithm developed in-house discovered several key tendencies of prospects, including that those who fill out an optional phone number and those who search during business hours are more likely to rent. That allows the company to first dedicate its human agents toward those renters since they are more likely to convert.
Read Joe Bousquin’s article in UNITS Magazine.

More Than Half of College Graduates Are Moving in With Parents Instead of Renting

As recently as a few years ago, it was considered embarrassing to move back in with mom and dad after graduating. To Gen Z individuals, it’s called being fiscally responsible. New research by Apartment Guide indicates that 54 percent of current graduates move back home, but the tendency isn’t necessarily bad news for the industry. By saving up money for first-and-last month’s deposit, younger individuals enter the apartment sector in better financial shape and are less likely to be delinquent residents. They can often afford nicer places, too. Read Bendix Anderson’s article in National Real Estate Investor.

Let’s Flip the Marketing Funnel

The assist value is often underrated in multifamily marketing. Oftentimes when apartment operators don’t see immediate value from pay-per-click efforts, banner ads or social media advertising, they believe the channel is essentially useless. But sometimes those channels redirect prospects to the community website or another conversion tool, so their presence is valuable in more of an assist capacity. Marketers should flip the funnel, according to Samantha Chalmers, and start from the point of conversion when the measuring effectiveness of each channel. Read Chalmers’ blog.

IN THE NEWS

Chicago and Dallas Most Improved for Resident Satisfaction

As apartment operators continue to place the onus on service levels to distinguish themselves in a hyper-competitive market, resident satisfaction levels continue to rise. National renter satisfaction crested at 78.6 percent through Q2, with Boston residents reporting a nationwide-high of 83.8 percent satisfaction. Chicago and Dallas had the highest uptick in resident satisfaction, and only Atlanta reported a year-over-year decrease in satisfaction. However, Atlanta ranked first in perceived value for amount paid at 67.2 percent. Read John Falco’s article in Multifamily Executive.

How To Help Affordable Developers Win Incentives

The misperception is that the affordable housing crisis plagues only popular and costly metros. In actuality, the crisis is nationwide, although there are tools for affordable housing operators to increase stock. These include public-private partnerships tax credits, government subsidies and zoning changes. Accessing these incentives can be challenging, but those that partner with CORES-certified organizations (Certified Organization for Resident Engagement and Services) can increase their chances. Read Flynann Janisse’s article in Multi-Housing News.

Millennials Care Most About Green Features in Their Apartments

One might think that the younger the generation, the more they care about green features in apartment homes. The Gen Z demographic actually falls third behind millennials and Gen X and ahead of Baby Boomers, although the desire for sustainability features is on the rise overall. Sixty-one percent of renters indicated they’d pay a premium for a green-certified home, but of those, 52 percent said they would be willing to pay more than $100 extra. The dichotomy lies in that new green-certified apartment homes cost an average of $560 more than standard homes of the same type. Read Dees Stribling’s article in Bisnow.