HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

Motivating Today’s Property Management Associates

The challenge of retaining high-performing team members is a constant source of stress in multifamily. According to the National Apartment Association, the turnover rate for property management staff is 33% – quite a bit higher than the average national rate of 22%. To keep associates engaged and in the fold, industry experts recommend a variety of tactics, including regular communication and a commitment to training and development. According to Grace Hill’s 2020 Multifamily Benchmark Report, 70% of small apartment firms offer professional development, while 64% of medium companies and 58% of large firms do so.

Read IvyLee Rosario’s article in Multi-Housing News

How to Create Real Value in Today’s Value-Add Properties

Many apartment owners and investors play in the value-add market. But that doesn’t mean success in these projects is easy. In the end, a successfully renovated and repositioned community is the culmination of an exhaustive amount of diligent research and careful strategic planning. Among other steps, companies in this sector need to dig deep into submarket data, understand there is no “one-size-fits-all” renovation for creating value and make sure they visit the properties they’re considering buying.

Read the article by Frank Roessler in The Multifamily Journal

If You Have Them, They Will Come: Pet Amenities Owners Want

According to the 2020 Pet Policies and Amenities in Multifamily report by PetScreening and J Turner Research, the kind of pet amenities a community offers is critical to a pet owner’s decision to move into a property or renew their lease. The report also points out that the most in-demand pet amenities are relatively easy and inexpensive to install. Among the most sought-after onsite features: pet-waste stations, fenced-in dog parks and dog runs. 

Read Mike Shytle’s article in The Multifamily Journal

IN THE NEWS

Single-Family Rentals Continue to Thrive

Rental housing rates are on the rise, but how long can the increase last? The rise is due, in part, to the costs of both building From the financial performance of the properties themselves to the ongoing change in renter preferences, a wide array of factors point to the fact that the single-family rental industry is white-hot and has real staying power. For starters, the Single-Family Rental Market Index, a quarterly survey that measures the health of the market by incorporating metrics such as median rent, leasing activity and occupancy rates, reached 90.3 out of 100 in the first quarter of 2021, up from 62.5 one year earlier.

ReRead Adam Kaufman’s article in Wealth Management Real Estate

The Full Self-Service Experience

With more prospects and residents desiring self-service, AvalonBay developed and is operating the Kanso Twinbrook community in Rockville, Maryland. The property offers only self-guided tours and is designed in a way to minimize the need for onsite staff. Package lockers and rooms streamline parcel delivery for residents, while parking is fully automated and residents submit maintenance requests exclusively online. A simplified building design with reduced onsite amenities allows AvalonBay to reduce rent as well.

Read Morgan Dzak’s article in Multifamily Executive

Five Apartment Markets Likely to Overheat

Taken as a whole, the apartment market has continued to exhibit strong fundamentals throughout 2020 and 2021. However, five metros – Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Raleigh-Durham and Tampa – are on the verge of becoming overheated. That was the conclusion of Kimberly Byrum of Zonda Advisory during a presentation at the recent MFE Conference in Las Vegas. According to Byrum, other than in the single-family housing market in Phoenix, builders in these metros are not increasing production of new homes at a pace that matches demand.

Read Paul Bergeron’s article in GlobeSt