CREJ

Page 30 — Multifamily Properties Quarterly — May 2021 www.crej.com F or most Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted various aspects of our everyday lives, including sparking conversations for many about relocating to a fresh, new city or state to call home. This has caused a ripple effect through- out the United States, with a mas- sive wave of residential relocations over the past 12 months. With its natural beauty and over- all high quality of life, it should come as no surprise that Colorado continues to attract residents, with Denver in particular ranking as the eighth-most moved-to city during the pandemic, according to research by Bloomberg. And as availability of for-sale houses in Colorado hits a record low at a time when demand among interested buyers is skyrock- eting – pushing closing prices to an all-time high – rental options are now all the more valuable. While the state will surely benefit from this influx of new residents, the surge in renters puts increased pressure on leasing agents and property managers, who require best-in-class technology to not only identify and capture quality leads, but also retain vetted and approved renters over the long term. And while state-of-the-art software is essential in attracting all renters, it is critical to garnering the buy-in of these out-of-state prospects who aren’t yet sold on the neighborhood, let alone your building. Whether it’s 3D touring technology, swift preap- provals or targeted moving messag- ing, a seamless digital experience is key to meaningfully standing out in the saturated mar- ket and ultimately making the long- distance rental search process manageable. Historically, the residential real estate industry has relied upon basic reports and spreadsheets, but as the saying goes, numbers don’t lie. And the only way to analyze the numbers is to con- sistently and effectively collect and sort data. In the modern information age, greater efficiency, accountability, sophistication and transparency aren’t just aspirational notions; they are critical elements in the pursuit of running and sustaining profit- able businesses. For the Colorado multifamily sector, property owners who haven’t done so already are highly encouraged to upgrade their systems so that property manag- ers and leasing agents are able to report back with full transparency across the complete rental life cycle, with the ultimate goal of using data to achieve higher rates of return through a better net operating income. Ultimately, the goals of utilizing effective technology for multifam- ily real estate will help owners with the following: reduce property losses, increase revenue and inform actionable changes that increase NOI both for properties and portfo- lios. To achieve maximum efficiency, it isn’t enough to screen resi- dents. Ideally, property owners and managers will want the ability to better market specific properties and units, streamline the applica- tion and lease execution process, improve resident retention and engagement and have easy access to all relevant financials. Here are some key questions property owners and managers should be asking themselves about the systems they have in place: • As your system stands today, are residents able to easily communi- cate with the property manager to file complaints or ask questions? Have you equipped your property managers with a system that allows them to respond quickly and reli- ably? Or through faulty and/or inad- equate systems do they often go days, weeks, months or longer with no response, resulting in angry resi- dents, increased strain on staff and ultimately loss of business and the resulting ding on your reputation? • Does your existing digital pro- cess enable you to capture active click-by-click movements of website visitors, enabling leasing agents to better identify qualified leads, con- vert that traffic into applicants and thus transform your website into a highly optimized marketing tool? • Are your leasing agents able to benchmark their performance against a broader database of users, or through your existing system offer in-depth insights into the entire Colorado market’s multifam- ily leasing activity, including statis- tics, trends and outlooks? • Does your existing system allow you to prequalify prospective Colo- rado residents, request and sched- ule tours and connect with neigh- borhood offerings such as dining and other local activities? Colorado has reached an inflex- ion point. Renters will continue to migrate to this highly desirable region at a time when the home- buying market is the tightest in the state’s recorded history. Now is the time for all multifamily property owners to invest in best-in-class digital platforms to better service your properties and portfolios and, ultimately, improve your bottom line. Because if you don’t, your com- petitors surely will. s Now is the time to invest in management tech Timothy Fortner CEO, BetterNOI Englewood | Steamboat Springs calconci.com | We Build: MULTIFAMILY Sage Corner Apartments Lakewood, CO Tech In the modern information age, greater efficiency, accountability, sophistication and transparency aren’t just aspirational notions; they are critical elements in the pursuit of running and sustaining profitable businesses.