Illuminating those things that unite us
Returning the Favor, Rowe’s latest series, made for Facebook, shines a light on quintessential American values. It profiles people who are of service to others and shows the profound effects of their deeds. Can one...
Be not afraid… of data
Consider three examples. The first involves Billy Beane, front office executive for the Oakland Athletics and the subject of Michael Lewis’s book Moneyball, who transformed baseball using data. He didn’t do it using fancy...
The great disappeared
The state remains one of the most unequal in the nation—one that has both billions of dollars in Silicon Valley and rampant homelessness. The Golden State’s efforts to eliminate poverty instead accentuates it, and...
Sec. Ben Carson’s approach to affordable housing might work
The new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Ben Carson, aims to succeed where the Obama administration failed. Carson’s department intends to revise one of the landmark housing policies implemented by the Obama administration,...
Smart machines
A form of artificial intelligence (AI) has been utilized in the multifamily industry since the first revenue management software programs were created 18 years ago to set rents. In that first phase of what also...
Powering forward
I love what I do. Crafting a line of sight on the greatest industry, in the greatest of all nations, is an honor and a joy. I serve those who serve. Housing a nation...
LED lights the way to savings
The price for LED (light emitting diode) bulbs has plummeted more than 90 percent since 2008 and today’s bulbs use 70 to 90 percent less energy and last 15 times longer than the old...
The cost of regulation on housing affordability
Some are looking to quick fixes that have been proven to not work, like rent control, while others are getting creative and combining public and private sector funding to help underwrite rents. What most of...
Essex spends big to defeat rent control measure
Essex generates 84 percent of its net operating income in California, far more than any other large apartment REIT. That explains why Essex has contributed more to defeat the measure than any other public...
How to stop saying “um,” “ah,” and “you know”
When we find ourselves rattled while speaking—whether we’re nervous, distracted, or at a loss for what comes next—it’s easy to lean on filler words. These may give us a moment to collect our thoughts...
A towering trend of supertall buildings
On a clear day, Tal Alexander can see for nine miles all the way to LaGuardia Airport from his apartment at Manhattan’s 432 Park Avenue, the tallest residential-only tower in the world, at 1,396...
Building your multifamily brand
Renters often start their search for a new home online. If a multifamily property company boasts a strong brand, consumers will go straight to the property’s website to do research instead of searching Google...
The death of the small apartment building
Developers in the U.S. built 358,000 units of new multifamily housing in 2017. That’s less than half the number of single-family homes built last year, but the gap between the two has narrowed a...
The problem with passion
Mike Rowe spoke with us about the skills gap—that chasm between the skills employers want employees to have and what workers actually bring to the job—several months before he was scheduled to address attendees...
Provide value
The great “follow your passion” social experiment should be a fading memory, but for the remaining pile of debt. Maybe now we can scrap the slogans and get back to the age-old principles of...
