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There's been a lot of talk of multifamily pricing over the last year or so, with a slew of high-profile lawsuits alleging that software is forcing prices upwards across the USA. In a December 2023 newsletter,  NMHC did a thorough job of showing how record supply is placing downward pressure on rents. 

NMHC's extensive analysis makes it clear that it is supply and demand, not software, that drives pricing across multifamily markets. But that is not the subject of this article

It's a brand new year, and with it comes an opportunity for a fresh take on a familiar theme. Readers of this blog will be familiar with the view that multifamily technology vendors often approach their products incorrectly. Specifically, in their eagerness to identify the key selling points for their technology, they often overlook the main reasons why companies buy their products. 

It's December, which is the time of the year when I have the absolute pleasure of sitting down for 20 in-depth conversations with multifamily executives. For those unfamiliar with 20for20, it's an annual survey where 20 leaders (ten heads of operations and ten heads of technology) from leading multifamily companies share their thoughts on the year that is ending and the year to come. 

Thanksgiving week is a great time to reflect on what we're grateful for. I've been reflecting on a conversation with the founder of an impressive new multifamily technology company earlier this year. His company had identified a new solution to a long-standing problem (I will spare the details to maintain anonymity). But over the hour we spent on our zoom call, he made me reevaluate my priors on a particular area of multifamily operations. 

If you're getting back into the swing of things at work after an engaging few days at NMHC OPTECH, you're probably processing your way through an overload of information. It was a packed event marked by record attendance, the unveiling of a new renter preferences study, and—if you were lucky—a remarkable U2 show at the Sphere. Among the array of insightful conference sessions and side conversations, a few themes emerged, five of which I outline in this post.

NMHC OPTECH is just a week away, and I've been taking a look at this year's audience composition. At the time of writing, the total number of attendees has surpassed any previous year, making this year's show the biggest ever—congratulations to the organizers! Whatever economic uncertainty our industry is facing, the enduring popularity of NMHC OPTECH tells us that our industry's appetite for technological innovation is stronger than ever.

Halloween is almost upon us. Texas has finally dropped out of triple digits for the year (phew). There are those who are excited about the presence of pumpkin spice in their drinks. That means it's almost time for NMHC OPTECH, the show that has so gracefully brought down the curtain on the annual multifamily conference circuit for as long as I can remember. I've been thinking some thoughts ahead of this year's event, the first of which I share in this post.

As companies seek to centralize property management functions, they find themselves coming up against rigidly property-based processes. Leasing—the highest profile of these functions—owes its design to the "coverage" model. Properties always needed at least one person on duty to answer phones, conduct tours, and support the leasing process. Companies centralizing leasing operations have to reimagine processes, tasks, and ultimately, jobs that have been the same way since time immemorial. 

Conference season is in full swing. Last week saw Blueprint 2023 in Las Vegas, which brought together its own distinct audience, including a well-attended multifamily section, in which I got to participate. As I will share in this post, a fresh format facilitated some fresh perspectives on centralization. 

It's been a while since I wrote about the situation facing multifamily revenue management (RM). For anyone who hasn't been following developments over the past ten months or so, a series of articles and lawsuits have alleged that our industry's long-established RM practices constitute "A new kind of cartel that allows the nation's largest landlords to indirectly coordinate pricing."