HOT & RELEVANT TOPICS

Raising the Bar on the Apartment Search Experience

Modern consumers have less of a desire to wait, spending only minutes to research, review, evaluate and make an online purchase. While that short timeframe takes place primarily with retail, the window of opportunity to attract multifamily prospects is also shrinking. Optimizing and expediting apartment searching and leasing — while also increasing personalization, flexibility and self-service in the process — is becoming the bar owner/operators need to meet.

Read Morgan Dzak’s article in The Multifamily Journal

Inside a One-of-a-Kind ‘Five-Over-One’ Apartment Building

Multifamily communities need to be modern to attract renters, but many municipalities want the architecture to blend with the surrounding area, particularly in historic neighborhoods. This requires multifamily designers to journey to the past when creating 21st-century structures with a centuries-old look. The builders of a community in Minneapolis faced a unique challenge when their project spanned two of the city’s historic neighborhoods.

Read Kriston Capps’ article in Bloomberg

You Feel Your Property is Pet-Friendly, But Do Your Renters?

The terms may seem interchangeable but pet-friendly and pet-inclusive are actually quite different. Many properties consider themselves to be pet-friendly, but then present prospects with breed and weight restrictions, as well as prohibitive fees. Renters place the acceptance of pets above all other considerations except price, making the shift to pet-inclusiveness an important consideration for owner/operators.

Read Judy Bellack’s article in Multifamily Insiders

IN THE NEWS

Market-Rate Apartments Flourish in College Towns

With stronger local economies and a more stable working environment, college towns are prime areas for market-rate apartments. The strength is bolstered by graduates who remain in the college town where they graduated, creating a highly-educated workforce that attracts higher-paying industries. The one challenge is slower rent growth in these regions, coupled with rising construction costs, produces slimmer profit margins that require creativity during a project.

Read Paul Bergeron’s article in GlobeSt

Helping Minority Developers Scale Up

Dr. Gina Merritt believes that affordable housing development was her destiny. After growing up in affordable housing and building a 30-year-career in multifamily, Merritt is now the principal of Northern Real Estate Urban Ventures. She recently became involved in Wells Fargo’s Growing Diverse Housing Developers initiative, which will help African-American and Latino entrepreneurs grow their businesses. In the latest episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily, Merritt discusses how the program works and why BIPOC developers are still held with different underwriting standards.

Listen to the podcast discussion in Rental Housing Journal

The Increased Interest in 55+ Communities

Facing an uncertain economy and future in conventional multifamily, developers are gaining renewed interest in active adult communities. These properties provide greater stickiness with an average turnover rate half that of conventional communities and an average stay of five to seven years. This sector is also experiencing a housing shortage with significant growth expected over the next 20 years, making it an excellent investment opportunity.

Read Elio Rieder’s article in Multi-Housing News