Virtual inspections: Protecting asset value
Unsurprisingly, COVID-19 is pushing an increasing number of multifamily lenders and owners to conduct property inspections virtually. Industry giants like Freddie Mac today deploy them on a widespread basis, leading many in the multifamily...
Digital weapons in the apartment amenities race
The amenities arms race. That is what the real estate industry loves to call the escalating level of services offered by apartment buildings. For decades in the country’s hottest luxury rental markets, property owners...
The next generation of office communication tech
Most knowledge workers in 2020 are familiar with mixed reality tools like Zoom, Teams, and Slack that enable them to meet in virtual locations. By merging real and virtual worlds to produce new environments,...
Resilience in the new normal
Emerging from the pandemic, tomorrow’s successful businesses will make themselves more resilient to unexpected crises. They will intensify the use of digital technologies in cloud computing, cyber security, cognitive and artificial intelligence tools and...
Pre-pandemic economy was reaching unprecedented heights for Black and Hispanic Americans, new data show
The grim and isolated life many Americans have adopted during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis is often referred to as the “new normal.” But when it comes to the economic side of the pandemic, we...
Leasing in a pandemic
The crisis caused by the coronavirus has forced many property managers to finally embrace new technologies.
When the U.S. economy shut down in March 2020 to fight the spread of the coronavirus, some apartment companies...
The fable of the bees
The fable of bees (or private vices, public benefits) was written in 1714 by Bernard Mandeville, who is today considered one of the first purveyors of economic theory. At the time of his writing...
Multifamily embraces tech in the time of COVID
As the pandemic continues to impact everyday life, Americans increasingly encounter the phrases unprecedented, new normal, and flatten the curve.
The innovation adoption curve—which includes early adopters, those who wait and see, laggards and even...
How smart home technology can increase NOI
The multifamily housing market is undergoing a transformation with the rise of smart home and smart building technology. Now more than ever, properties are adopting these features and upgrading their offerings to meet a...
Multifamily builder, developer confidence index rises in Q2
According to the latest Multifamily Market Survey (MMS) released by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), confidence in the market for new multifamily housing increased in the second quarter, however, it still remains...
Apartment REITs: urban exodus
Apartment REITs have been among the strongest-performing property sectors over the last two decades by riding the tailwinds of an unyielding urban revival, a trend that is suddenly severely threatened in several key markets...
Investors see value in student housing despite COVID-19 concerns
When the economy falters, one type of real estate usually avoids the fallout: student housing.
That’s because students still want to live near campus. Others, who see an economic downturn as motivation to pursue additional...
Why does Hollywood hate real estate developers?
There’s a scene in the HBO drama The Wire where several Baltimore homicide detectives come to the realization that the murderous gangster they’ve been chasing for the better part of three seasons might have...
Canceling rent won’t solve housing woes
As Americans stagger through a bewildering pandemic summer, buffeted by shutdowns and job losses, millions face each coming month with an additional dread: making their rent payments.
In response to the crisis, numerous states and...
Business as unusual
As cities, counties and states begin loosening lockdown orders and allowing non-essential businesses to open, apartment owners are weighing strategies to ride out the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and finding slivers...
