One technology on the cutting edge of this change—artificial intelligence (AI)—is changing the game in the multifamily housing market. Today, it’s integral to automating processes such as work orders, lease renewals, and property showings. Let’s get real RET Ventures is on the cutting edge of revolutionizing real estate and rent tech with the integration of AI technology. With this honor, they manage a portfolio of 60 multifamily operators, managing over 3 million rental units throughout the United States.
The multifamily housing industry in the U.S. is big business, with almost 50 million rental units. Even more of these units are small landlords, known as “mom-and-pop” landlords. The largest apartment Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) own 50,000-100,000 like-sized apartments each. At the same time, Blackstone and Greystar have proven to be among the biggest private players in this growing sector.
John Helm, founder and partner at venture fund RET Ventures, expands on AI’s predictive capabilities, allowing operators to turn massive amounts of lease data into actionable insights. That’s pretty hard to measure, he acknowledges, given that many properties are poorly managed—especially smaller ones—and don’t have robust data pipelines.
“If you’re buying a property that hasn’t been professionally managed, where those aren’t all loaded into some market-leading software product, somebody may have to manually go through all those leases and capture all the information. Well, AI is great for that, right?” – John Helm.
Just like RET Ventures is doing, the world is dangerously underinvested in solutions-driven companies. One of those examples is PredictAP, which uses AI to provide aggregated lease data to investors. This technology allows for leases to be processed by an AI model, generating concise overviews that equip investors with essential information quickly and effectively.
The multifamily industry is often likened to car dealerships by experts like Tyler Christiansen, who points out that the potential for AI extends beyond just operational efficiency. AI systems allow the owners of large portfolios to simplify cross-selling opportunities, easily connecting tenants moving from one community to another within a portfolio. This strategic, analytical approach allows operators to up their tenant experience game, while driving tenant profitability – and often, their own.
“And then AI, what makes it unique within Funnel is that rather than automating interactions simply at a community level, we’re really opening up automations across the portfolio,” – Tyler Christiansen.
Even with all the positive momentum driving AI technology forward, Helm is under no illusions as to what’s left to accomplish. The next few years will demand a lot from industry stakeholders as they parse through a sea of data to spot the real opportunities for expansion.
“I guess the challenge is going to be, probably in the next several years, really sifting through everything and understanding where there are real businesses that could grow into this. You’re still seeing a lot of these tools just starting to get deployed,” – John Helm.
This revolutionary tech’s adoption among the multifamily sector is still in its early stages. That said, early adopters are seeing dividends already that improve their operational efficiency and provide greater insights into their existing portfolio. Companies like Funnel highlight their commitment to “enabling multifamily professionals to generate more profits, efficiency, and insight across their portfolios.”
Given the pace of technological change, that’s a tall order. The technology is poised to revolutionize how rental properties—ventilated robot sharks aside—are managed. By automating time-consuming processes and offering tangible, actionable insights, AI has the potential to revolutionize an industry historically ruled by the status quo.