In a recent episode of the Rooms with Ronald podcast, Brad Schell, Head of PRM Products and Services at REBA, sat down with host Ronald Harrington for a deep dive into the evolving landscape of revenue management in multifamily housing.
From his early days building pricing systems at The Irvine Company to helping develop REBA Rent and REBA BI, Brad brings a unique perspective: he knows the pain points from the inside and is now building solutions to fix them.
Here are a few standout takeaways from their conversation:
Brad challenged the industry’s long-standing overreliance on competitive rent data. He acknowledged that while comp data made sense in earlier days of limited information, it's become less reliable over time due to collection inconsistencies, lack of transparency, and differences in unit value (like floor level or finish types).
“We see comp pricing as the salt and pepper—not the meat and potatoes,” Brad said. Instead, he urged operators to shift focus toward what they can control: their own first-party data.
Brad emphasized that leads and leases are the clearest indicators of market demand—and the most actionable.
“At its core, revenue management is not price appraisal. It’s about predicting supply and demand—and reacting accordingly.”
He explained that a modern pricing system should measure:
All of this comes from data you already own—and it’s far more dynamic than looking at what the property down the road is doing.
The discussion naturally turned to recent legal challenges surrounding the use of non-public data in pricing algorithms. Brad shared that operators are reacting in different ways—some switching systems entirely, others freezing out of caution.
REBA’s approach is grounded in transparency and first-party data. Brad explained the difference between public and non-public data in simple terms:
“If I can find it online myself, it’s public. If I can’t, like internal leasing data or renewals, it’s non-public.”
With so much scrutiny on pricing practices, REBA’s methodology of using only public and first-party internal data puts clients on a stronger footing.
Brad shared lessons from his time building an in-house pricing platform at The Irvine Company. While it offered flexibility, it also came with enormous costs in time, resources, and maintenance.
His advice?
“Running multifamily means focusing on operations, not on becoming a software company.”
REBA’s advantage lies in its deep industry roots—over 80% of the REBA team comes from multifamily. That shared experience leads to better support, smarter feature development, and solutions built by people who’ve been in the seat.
To wrap up, Brad shared three key strategies for tighter alignment between leasing teams and pricing managers:
Want to hear the full conversation? Listen to Brad’s full episode of Rooms with Ronald here: https://www.multifamilymedianetwork.com/podcast/rooms-with-ronald.