Having just gotten back from NAA’s Apartmentalize in New Orleans, it’s natural to think about the “state of the state” in multifamily housing technology. Here’s a few thoughts on where we at REBA see proptech in our industry.
AI still getting buzz but reality starting to set in. There’s so much going on with AI, that’s hard to break through with impactful observations, so I’ll just focus on one key point today. DIY AI is very alluring, but it risks people turning off their brains. Good AI requires cleansed, governed data. And it requires context. Even if source system data were clean (which we all know it’s not), it’s not just as simple as asking an AI agent or chat bot, “What is rent growth in Atlanta?” Do you mean new, renewal or blended? What timeline? Asking rents now vs then or current lease trade-out? Including all leases (e.g. MTM and other short-term leases) or just the core long-term lease data set? Without context, you may not be getting the answer you think you are (or need). That’s why buying a foundation like REBA BI and then building your advantage on top of it will be the long-term winner.
On pricing and revenue management, while there’s still some angst and energy, it feels like the “new rules” are set. DOJ’s multiple settlements and the wide swath of legislative action in multiple states and cities have clearly set the bar. While many states and localities propose new legislation, it’s been more than a year since we’ve seen anything new in these proposals. In fact, the energy around pricing discussions has shifted more to concerns around fee transparency than core pricing algorithms. It’s not that the algorithms are unimportant; it’s just that it’s now clear what the rules are. And we are very proud that REBA Rent is, and has always been, compliant with all legislation and settlement agreements.
It’s still stunning to me how many people budget in Excel. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Excel is not an enterprise solution! While flexible, it doesn’t scale. It’s nigh on impossible to get good roll up reporting, and it’s easy for people to make mistakes in it. Customers using our REBA Budget product see both improvements in forecast accuracy and reductions in the time spent budgeting…time that can, and does, get put to better use.
We’re seeing a growing importance in merging market and your own 1st party data. Asset Management and Operations roles are blurring, driven by easier access to data. That observation was a big driver in our strategic move to buy Markerr and rebrand it as REBA Market Explorer. As we bring that data into the REBA connected analytics platform, customers who use that product will reap the rewards of improved insights and decision making.
Lastly, I was struck at NAA by how much size and pedigree matter. REBA has been at this for almost seven years now, and our products are based on the more than 25 years of MFH experience my co-founder and I bring to the table (plus the hundreds of years of experience the rest of our team has). I’ll leave names out of this, but walking the trade show floor, I couldn’t help but notice that software vendors with size and experience continue to have large and growing presence even measured by something as coarse as booth size and number of associates at the conference while many other “start-ups,” often founded by outsiders, have a very small presence. It begs the question on how many years old a company should be considered a “start-up” just because they’re still small.
I don’t say that to be snarky; rather, it hit me that in times of uncertainty, owners and operators in our industry are clearly choosing to partner with reliable companies that have a strong customer base and an unimpeachable pedigree in the industry. As I enter my 28th year in the industry, I’m proud and honored that almost 100 companies trust us as their partner in such mission-critical functions as pricing, BI, budgeting and market analysis. Here’s to the next 100 to join us!