Among this week’s most interesting multifamily storylines: utilizing tech without sacrificing personal connections, reflecting on multifamily’s COVID-19 response, package solutions that might be causing more problems, a look back at the last decade of multifamily transactions, the apartment markets dominating the pandemic era, and amenity must haves as the lockdown ends.
Package management had become a growing concern for apartment communities, even before “safer at home” and “quarantine” became a part of our everyday life. But the pandemic triggered an irreversible trend for consumers, who now rely on e-commerce for even their most basic needs.
This week’s top multifamily storylines include ways to make housing more affordable, product knowledge in leasing, addressing the package management burden, construction delays continue, questioning the suburban push and caring for pet-owning residents.
Office teams have served as the intermediaries between delivery services and residents, receiving packages on behalf of residents, submitting arrival notifications, and facilitating distribution. It was a time-consuming job, but the emergence of e-commerce has turned the task into a liability.
As we move into 2021, the baseline delivery volume is projected to remain 30% higher, rendering traditional package management infrastructure ineffective. A solution with the ability to scale alongside the increasing number of deliveries is a requirement moving forward in the multifamily space.
There are a number of differentiators in multifamily that owners and property managers lean on to promote their properties. Location, amenities, technology, services and square footage all come at a premium. But with all else being equal, the tipping point is customer service.
Property managers need a package solution that consolidates package services and drastically reduces the number of delivery personnel who require access to the property on a daily basis. By limiting foot traffic in and out of the building, operators can also limit the potential for exposure.
Fetch, an off-site package solution for multifamily communities, predicts that the onslaught of packages will be a lasting effect of the pandemic. Year-over-year package numbers increased by 39% in March and 48% in April, but then skyrocketed 58% in May and 63% in June.