Posts about Multifamily

Perspectives on Mitigating Occupational Exposure to COVID-19: A Q&A with Shari Solomon, Esq.

WPM recently interviewed Shari Solomon, Esq., president and founder of CleanHealth Environmental, LLC. Ms. Solomon shared her expertise with WPM about how workplaces and residences can mitigate the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for their residents and tenants. WPM: What can you tell us about the importance of industrial hygiene generally, before COVID-19? Solomon: As an environmental consultant who specializes in industrial hygiene, I focus on occupational exposures to health hazards which pertain to safety concerns in working environments. For example, my colleagues and I may assess indoor air quality exposures, administer OSHA trainings, and/or provide infection prevention support to the healthcare field. My area of expertise is infection prevention. When I first started working as an industrial hygienist for the healthcare industry nearly 15 years ago, the primary focus was on the level of radiation that technicians might be exposed to, or the chemical hazards that pathologists may come into contact with during medical processes, for example. There is now a recognition of the safety hazards that may arise for environmental service technicians (the terminology we use for the housekeeping staff) in the healthcare field. For example, the average environmental services technician comes into contact with harsh disinfectants on a daily basis. We therefore assess procedures that help lessen their exposure. More recently, we have become more focused on biological sources of exposures, which is where our expertise can really help reduce the spread of the COVID-19. WPM: How has COVID-19 changed things for multifamily real estate, commercial real estate, and those organizations who provide services to individuals living and working in these types of properties? Solomon: COVID-19 has significantly affected many areas of our lives, which naturally will impact the “new normal” for where we live and work. For commercial real estate, the stay-in-place mandates coupled with the public’s natural reluctance to venture out means commerce has been curtailed. As a result, one of the biggest things that commercial property managers can do to encourage re-occupancy is to create and communicate a re-occupancy program. We can substantially mitigate the risk of infection by minimizing the opportunity for transfer. To do this, property managers should: Develop a policy that stipulates CDC guidelines, such as maintaining social distancing, wearing a mask, etc. Communicate the policy with occupants and tenants Continue to provide periodic validation that the policy is being followed and enforced. For multifamily real estate, the focus is not on re-occupancy, but on maintaining occupancy. The three steps listed above will also provide reassurance to multifamily residents, encouraging them to maintain occupancy. As for the guidelines that each policy should include (point number one, above), we recommend addressing the following: Adhere to recent CDC guidelines: As our understanding of COVID-19 evolves, it is important to follow the latest guidelines from the CDC. Each facility should appoint at least one person to regularly review these guidelines and update the policy accordingly. Mandate social distancing. Require that employees stand six feet apart and post signage to remind anyone who enters the building about this rule. Create visual cues to help people remember what six feet looks like. For example, one company drew circles around employees’ desks. Managers should also consider installing plexiglass or higher partitions. Require Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): PPE such as masks should be required in any indoor environment. Cleaning and disinfection: Create a cleaning schedule that includes frequent cleanings of the entire building, and in particular the high-traffic areas and high-touch surfaces. Hand hygiene: Encourage frequent hand washing by posting signage throughout the building and creating more wash stations. Create signage that discourages shaking hands and touching. Address indoor quality: Improve air quality by improving air circulation. Ensure your HVAC system is functioning well by continuing regular maintenance, which includes inspecting and changing air filters regularly. Also continue to look for ways to increase access to fresh air. Communication: It cannot be overstated that these safety procedures need to be communicated as the norm at frequent intervals. People get comfortable and will naturally slide into less strict adherence to the policy. It is up to property leadership to continue to communicate, monitor and enforce compliance. WPM: What do you believe are the most important challenges around “re-opening”? Solomon: I think maintaining vigilance about the health risk COVID-19 poses will be an ongoing challenge. It could be tempting to become relaxed about communicating and enforcing a building’s policies. We must not let this happen, but continually reference CDC guidelines to be sure we are offering the best in safety and compliance to our residents and tenants. WPM: Are there any new opportunities or positive changes you anticipate coming out of the pandemic? Solomon: I am glad to see industries more focused on infection prevention. This could be a positive shift toward a healthier lifestyle for all of us. I also think the new flexibility that allows us to work from home could have positive repercussions for both people’s work/life balance and productivity. WPM: What advice would you provide to multifamily and commercial real estate owners and related service providers as they begin to re-open? Solomon: People have a lot of anxiety right now because they feel like they have no power to fight against the spread of this virus. But I want to empower them to know that they can protect themselves if they take right measures to minimize the opportunity for transfer of infection. For example, I had a government client who was trying to figure out how to protect their employees when 90 percent of them arrived to work via public transportation. The manager felt powerless to contain the exposure. But I advised that there are six links in the “chain of infection.” If you break any one of those links, such as washing your hands to remove the pathogen or not touching your face, you can significantly reduce your risk. Or you can take ownership of sanitizing your personal desk space and requiring social distancing when talking to colleagues. You do have the power to reduce your risk! CleanHealth Environmental, LLC offers comprehensive training and consultation services for industrial hygiene fields and infection prevention. These services can both satisfy regulatory compliance in the field and provide valuable risk management solutions. For more information about CleanHealth visit www.cleanhealthenv.com.

WPM Q&A Blog –Adam Skolnik CPM, ARM, CAE of MMHA

Perspectives on the Region’s Housing Market: A Q&A with Adam Skolnik, Executive Director of the Maryland Multi-Housing Association (MMHA) WPM sat down recently with Adam Skolnik, Executive Director of the Maryland Multi-Housing Association (MMHA), as he reflected on the state of the regions housing market and the 2020 Legislative Session. We have included portions of that interview below... WPM : What trends are you seeing in the Greater Baltimore housing market and how has COVID-19 impacted the rental housing industry? Skolnik : I think the market had been solid prior to COVID-19, both on the transactional side and the operational side. Some soft pockets remained, downtown, where so much new product had come online that a few older communities were having vacancy issues. While it is too early to ascertain the full extent to which COVID-19 has interrupted the industry, we surveyed our members and found that delinquency rates have increased since March. April’s average delinquency rate was initially 21%, but at the end of the month it was 17.85%. May’s average delinquency rate for survey respondents was 21.9% as of mid-May. Fortunately, May’s average delinquency was about the same as April’s at time of survey. We also found that by the end of the month, delinquency went down, suggesting people are paying throughout the month. We noticed delinquency is much higher at C class and naturally occurring affordable properties. Things are so fluid right now I am afraid to estimate what the impact in June will be. WPM : What operational changes do you expect management companies will implement in the aftermath of COVID-19? Skolnik : Now more than ever, technology is imperative. We expect to see more and more companies adding technology to their operations. Online payment and maintenance portals, virtual tours, and virtual social gatherings for residents are just a few advances our industry has recently adopted, or is pushing to adopt, in the face of COVID-19. WPM : What do you see as opportunities for the industry? Skolnik : President Trump, through HUD, is advancing the idea that investors could get a capital gains tax break by investing in impacted low-income opportunity zones, and that could affect much of Baltimore City. Places like Hagerstown, which are comparatively urban, low income areas, and some parts of the Eastern Shore may show some opportunity, but these may not have the demand or the demographics to support investment. There’s been talk about supporting affordable housing and increasing the Affordable Housing portfolio, though it hasn’t yielded a lot of legislative actions. WPM : Are there challenges facing the market other than COVID-19? Skolnik : Some legislators, at the state level and in some local jurisdictions, seem to think that residents of rental housing need protection from the owners, which could lead them to legislating how we run our business – things like changing escrow laws. In development, we clearly face a shortage of housing throughout the state and the country (particularly affordable housing). A combination of zoning laws and a lack of available land make it harder to build the housing we need nationwide. Howard and Anne Arundel counties have implemented environmental regulations that limit a developer’s ability to remove trees. Howard County also has introduced an increased school facility surcharge intended to address overcrowding schools, which places the onus for a solution on developers. And the book Evicted , which was released several years ago, still has a negative impact on some people’s perception of the industry, because it focused on low-quality, mom-and-pop landlords and their tenants. But most rental housing outside of individual homes in Baltimore City is in larger apartment communities and managed by larger, higher quality providers. WPM : Which issues from Maryland’s 2020 Legislative Session do you see as having the most impact on the multi-housing industry – at the local level and the state level? Skolnik : The State had passed House Bill 231, which prohibits residential housing providers from discriminating against a person based on their source of income. In concept, we support the legislature’s intent to deconcentrate poverty and promote fair housing, but HB 231 would require landlords to accept housing choice voucher applicants, and thus require them to enter into a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) contract with HUD – and some provisions of the HAP contract are particularly onerous, substantially increasing the administrative burden and financial risks for the housing provider. This is a big issue and it’s been a long-running fight nationwide, for 20 to 30 years. Under HB 231, landlords would have to wait for local housing authorities to process the lease paperwork, and this could mean holding a unit open an extra six weeks or more, keeping it out of circulation and not generating income. Further, the Public Housing Administration (PHA) may unilaterally alter the contract terms, including pricing. They may even alter or terminate the amount of the housing assistance payments at any time, resulting in termination of the lease and leaving the housing provider no recourse. Rent increases would require prior approval. Also, if a renting family were to separate, or if they added a child and the PHA determined the unit no longer provided adequate space, the contract would terminate. And if the PHA failed to make its housing assistance payment, the owner would not be allowed to terminate a tenancy. These are just a few of the problems with HB 231. The MMHA published a position paper in February detailing our exceptions with the Bill and suggesting addenda. We’ve been doing a number of things to prepare for this – not just sharing information, but bringing in local housing authorities after they’ve passed the ordinance and holding sessions with landlords to explain how the process works, who to talk to, etc. Another item considered in the 2020 session was HB 1628, a sales tax measure that would have hit property management services. Our studies showed that individual rents would need to increase by over $120 per unit, per month, just to cover the new services tax. That Bill would have exacerbated the affordable housing issue, but fortunately it was ultimately defeated. WPM : What role does MMHA play in Baltimore’s multi-housing industry? Skolnik : Fundamentally, we do three things – Advocate, Educate, and Communicate. The Advocacy part is obvious. From an education standpoint, we provide internal and external training, like our maintenance training academy, which we provide at no cost to the student. With respect to communication, the Association produces networking events, websites, a blog, and more (mostly for our members), but we absolutely are the voice of industry and public. WPM : What do you want the general public to know? Skolnik : The public needs to understand that owners and managers of rental housing are typically really good corporate citizens, and their portrayal in the media and by advocacy communities is simply wrong. The vast majority of owners and managers care about the communities they manage and work in, and they give back every day. This is an industry that is regulated at every level of government. The issues we deal with are deep and significant – they touch so many areas of life, from helping communities manage during COVID-19 to elevator regulations and towing cars. The fact is that our members are housing hundreds of thousands of residents in good, stable housing. And it’s been that way for a long time.

Multifamily Baltimore: Growing supply and transaction volume and what is drawing Investors to this Marketplace.

We recently spoke with Mike Muldowney, a member of CBRE’s investment sales team who covers the Mid-Atlantic, about multifamily real estate. Here are portions of that interview... WPM : Describe the multifamily market. What’s drawing investors to the market? Muldowney : Multifamily real estate is an asset class that is “needs-based,” since everyone needs a place to live. Consequently, multifamily real estate remains highly occupied and generates strong revenue – similar to self-storage, another asset class, but not serving as critical a need as housing. Unlike other investment types, like industrial and retail offices, which offer multiyear leases, multifamily real estate gives the investor 12-month rolling leases that can be increased as the economy improves or with inflation. This provides an opportunity to move rents and the resulting revenue by two or three percent annually. What’s more, stable multifamily properties maintain 90-95% occupancy rates. Years ago, ownership of multifamily properties was family-based, and family-run businesses would run the facilities, collect rents, maintain the community, etc. In the mid-90s multifamily real estate evolved into more of an institutional investment type, through publicly traded REITs, and pension funds investing in this asset class, making it a more transparent and understandable asset type. Today, multifamily real estate has become much more popular, as it is fairly predictable and favored by the capital markets, from equity to debt offered by banks, life companies or agencies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. WPM : What do you think will be the biggest opportunities for multifamily real estate? Muldowney : One clear opportunity is workforce housing: rental housing that is priced to meet the need of the majority of our workforce. The formula for measuring the affordability of rental housing is typically that a worker can afford one-third of their take home pay on housing. So, someone with a weekly paycheck of $825 to $960 can afford a monthly rental expense of $1200 to $1400. At this rent level, it is also reasonable to expect those rents to increase 2% to 4% per year. After the great recession, homeownership dropped from just over 69% to less than 63%. That’s a move of over 6% on 350 million people, creating a surge in the rental market. And then there’s the entry of the Millennials into the housing market. So far, they seem less excited about homeownership, as they delay marriage and shop for their best possible job. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers are becoming empty-nesters, and many don’t want to maintain a home. WPM : What issues or challenges have multifamily owners/investors faced over the past few years? Muldowney : Increasing overture of jurisdictions about restricting rents on housing – not letting the market dictate price – and some over-regulation in major jurisdictions like California, New York and Washington, DC. For the past several years, we’ve seen more investment capital coming into the multifamily real estate space. It used to be an investor would solve for a leveraged return approaching 20% for a 10-year investment; that number has come down to the low teens due to fierce competition between interested investors. WPM : How would you describe the current transaction volume? Muldowney : Prior to COVID-19 and the resulting economic contraction, I would have said it’s on fire as it was in 2019; that nothing has slowed down, and that there is plenty of equity and debt to purchase these properties, making it the most preferred asset type. But with COVID-19, the credit markets, and specifically the multifamily mortgage markets, have become volatile from day to day. Travel bans have made it harder for potential investors to tour opportunities. Stay-at-home orders and restrictions on non-essential businesses have created more challenges for closing deals, including logistics related to inspections, reports, and recordation. All parties are having to work together to leverage technology and find alternate solutions. Additionally, with the potential of renters losing their jobs due to closings, cancellations, and executive orders being imposed across the country, owners are concerned about renters being able to pay their rent. The upper end of the spectrum is expected to weather the situation better, as residents in these communities are likely to be in better financial standing. Workforce housing has been in high demand leading up to this period and is anticipated to see a rise in occupancy levels again once jobs come back. WPM : What’s the current mix between existing stock and new construction? Is the multifamily real estate market in this region over- or under-supplied? Muldowney : Coming out of the recession, there was a lack of liquidity. New construction across the U.S. fell to nearly 100,000 units per year, where normal rates might be 350,000 or more units per year. Now, we may be at 500,000 or more units coming out of the ground each year for the past few years.] Across the country we’ve been in construction mode. That’s not to say that the units are having trouble getting absorbed, because they are. There is a problem the rising cost of construction, from supplies like concrete, steel, drywall, and lumber, to labor costs that have risen faster than the supply costs. When you have 3% unemployment, it’s hard to find skilled construction workers. We are in need of an orderly immigration policy that brings skilled workers to our country legally. Rising construction costs and the somewhat flat wage growth of renters are more frequently causing a break in the model that solves for a reasonable return on costs for developers/investors in new construction. As such, the pipeline of new construction should narrow in the future. As the new construction opportunities narrow, investors turn to the older rental housing stock where there is an opportunity to buy below replacement cost, fix up the units in exchange for an increase in monthly rent. This approach works well in jurisdictions where developable land is scarce and where there is a both a demand for quality housing and wages that support the rent levels for the upgraded housing. Right now, there seems to be more interest in purchasing existing stock, where investors know there can be rent growth year over year. And DC and its suburbs are a major, well recognized gateway market for multifamily real estate. Baltimore, only 45 minutes to the north, sometimes gets overlooked, though we’re seeing opportunity there. As for the region being over- or under-supplied, there seems to be a good balance in the long term. WPM : How does the Mid-Atlantic compare to other parts of the country? Muldowney : I would say the concentration of investor interest is the Southeast through Texas and through the Southwest. The Mid-Atlantic market falls somewhere on the spectrum of between CA and NY – which are harder places to do business, so investors are coming to the Mid-Atlantic looking for opportunities. Secondary and tertiary markets took it on the chin in the mid-2000s, but now they are in vogue, because there is renewed employment growth (e.g., Sales Force in Indianapolis) which begets a need for housing. Rents are not terribly high, so you have opportunity to increase rents as the economies in these secondary and tertiary locations grow. These would be places like Iowa, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Saint Louis, and Ohio - even Detroit is back. WPM : What advice would you provide to a multifamily owner/investor purchasing an existing property? Muldowney : We like to point to employment drivers, sustainability through thick and thin. Baltimore has lots of jobs in medicine and education, and those tend to stick around in recessionary times. Location relative to mass transit is critical, as gridlock continues. And of course, the “bones” of the property – how well constructed was the community, will the floor plans work with today’s demands? For example, the old three bedrooms with one bath have limited potential for rent growth in today’s rental housing market. WPM : What advice would you provide to a multifamily owner/investor considering a new construction project? Muldowney : On the new development front, I’d explore whether the entire model fits the market – from a rent standpoint, a demand standpoint, etc. As a developer, I like the drivers created by the Bayview Medical campus more than being on the water; there’s simply more activity in those areas. In Highlandtown, rents average $1600 to $1700, much easier to fill than $2200 and up on the Harbor. And look at where wages are heading for net new jobs. A tenant with a $55-60k per year income is more likely to go into Highlandtown than Harbor East or downtown. Mike Muldowney is Executive Vice President with CBRE, specializing in multifamily property sales and concentrating on the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC and the District of Columbia. His market knowledge expands throughout the greater Washington-Baltimore region. Learn more about Mike and his team at www.cbre.us .

ICYMI: Insights on Multifamily Housing in Delaware

An interview with Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group Renowned Economist Anirban Basu recently shared his insights about multifamily housing with the Delaware Apartment Association. We had a chance to follow up with him to get his perspective and to share some of the highlights from his comments. WPM: What trends are you seeing in the multifamily housing market? Basu: The focus seems to have shifted away from new construction and toward rehabilitation of Class B and Class C properties. The upper end of the market has been neatly saturated with new construction, and housing affordability issues abound. Out-of-town money is flooding into Wilmington, DE, pushing down cap rates. Investors are convinced that apartments that presently yield $650/month can be improved and attract much higher rents. Perhaps, but there are a lot of financially constrained people out there. WPM: How does the multifamily housing market in this region (Delaware specific and/or Mid-Atlantic) compare to the national market (e.g., makeup, size, or other applicable measures or relevant metrics)? Basu: Some of the strongest markets these days are adjacent markets -- markets adjacent to much larger metropolitan areas. Wilmington fits that profile neatly, as does Providence, Sacramento, and others. Primary markets have become wildly expensive, creating substantial demand in adjacent markets. Because there are so many primary markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, secondary markets here tend to be very strong. Even Baltimore has hung in despite its massive public safety issues. WPM: What about job growth (and type of job growth) in Wilmington and/or Mid-Atlantic? Basu: Job growth in the Mid-Atlantic is meh. The fastest job (and population) growth will continue to be in the South and West, including throughout Florida, Atlanta, Dallas, San Antonio, Nashville, Austin, Phoenix, Denver, etc. WPM: How do you see the current economic forecast affecting the industry? Basu: Risk of recession is elevated. Coronavirus has exposed a number of economic fragilities, including the excessively leveraged corporate sector (e.g., energy). Vacancies are about to rise. WPM: What do you think has the most potential to advance, alter, or disrupt the industry? Basu: Demographics. The most common age in America this year is 28. The second is 29, third is 27. Many future homeowners in the making. The demographics of the multifamily market won't be nearly as strong over the next ten years as they have been over the past ten. That said, there is a group of Millennials that will actively avoid homeownership, choosing to rent. Still, five years ago, the most common age was 23. That was a perfect setup for the multifamily boom we have experienced. Anirban Basu is Chairman and CEO of Sage Policy Group. He is a study in contradictions. He has been called an economist with a personality, or alternatively, one with a sense of humor. He has twice been recognized as one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people. He has also been named one of the Baltimore region’s 20 most powerful business leaders. He serves as Chairman of the Maryland Economic Development Commission, teaches global strategy at Johns Hopkins University, and serves the Chief Economist function for a number of organizations around the country.

MRE Investment Climate in 2020: An Interview with Mark Caplan

MRE Investment Climate in 2020 A Q&A with Mark Caplan, Chairman of WPM Real Estate Management and President/CEO of Time Group Real Estate Investment We recently sat down with WPM Chairman Mark Caplan in his role as managing partner of the firm’s largest client to get his perspective on the climate for multifamily real estate in 2020 WPM: How would you describe the multifamily real estate investment market for 2020? Caplan: From an investor perspective, the multifamily real estate market is generally going well, is very local in nature and increasingly competitive. Existing communities are performing well and investment opportunities with the right economic return are harder to find. I think multifamily real estate investment is being pursued aggressively in the region, driving down capitalization rates and expected returns. Plus, the market may be a little over supplied. There’s been a lot of new building and that simply takes a while to be absorbed. WPM: How would you say the Mid-Atlantic and MidSouth regions compare to the national market? Caplan: I would say these markets are performing similarly or even a bit better than the national market because of growth. We’re a coastal country with the East and West coasts shouldering much of the activity and economic growth in our country. WPM: What current trends are you seeing in multi-family real estate? Caplan: I believe we’re seeing less movement to home ownership in this next generation. Increasingly, we’re seeing millennials continuing to rent versus buy. I think this will lead to greater diversity in terms of property types, including more suburban and single-family home rentals. As millennials who would typically have been housed in urban apartments begin to have families and move out to the counties, we see their desire to rent continuing. Additionally, some of the amenities that up until now have typically been in urban settings may need to be thought about for suburban communities – things like package delivery, fitness centers, and business centers. Furthermore, I think transportation is key. How we’re thinking about transportation, including services like Lyft, Uber and Zip Cars, impacts where people want to be located and how people choose their communities. WPM: What do you think will be the biggest opportunities this year for real estate investment? Caplan: I think one of the biggest opportunities for real estate investment is on the office and retail side. It’s not my focus, but I believe someone with the right vision – who understands and can anticipate the way industry is changing and how that will affect how people will work or shop in the future – has a big opportunity. Investors may have different views based on their perspective about changes in technology, industry, home delivery models, etc. It’s a chance to be really right about what’s needed or to be really wrong. Who knows? WPM: What challenges do you think the market faces? Caplan: I would have to say affordability and supply. There’s a lot coming online right now, and the question is how you pay for it. It’s why I think it is so important for companies like WPM Real Estate Management to focus on being both customer centric and efficient in managing expenses. Residents who are happy will stay longer. WPM places significant emphasis on providing residents with a good home and superior service at a fair price. It’s why the firm continues to maintain high occupancy levels and continues to receive some of the top ratings for customer satisfaction in the industry. Ensuring operational efficiencies is another critical factor for properties and owners, especially when faced with challenges of an over-supplied market. It’s important that your management company understands the owner’s perspective and is making good decisions that ensure both quality and cost-control when turning apartments, handling repairs and maintenance, and servicing equipment for operability. WPM: What’s next for your team in 2020? Caplan: We continue to look for greater geographic diversity and expansion into mid-tier cities within the region, where we can bring our investment expertise and our management experience, size and scale to bear. We have recently invested in the York, Pa., Richmond, Va., and Wilmington, De., and continue to look for opportunities within these and other similar regional markets. I think what makes us different than other investor groups entering these markets is our commitment to becoming a part of the communities we serve. We’ve been very intentional and selective about where we want to grow. Our interests are in long-term relationships where our work is integral to the greater community – much like what we’ve done in the Baltimore market. We bring significant development expertise as well as a deep reservoir of equity to make projects happen. And, we bring with us a talented property management company that has a proven-track record of success. I’m excited about the strength of this combination and look forward to seeing what lies ahead in 2020. Mark Caplan is Chairman of WPM Real Estate Management and serves as President and CEO of The Time Group, an investment real estate firm. He is a founding member of the Real Estate Advisory Board at the Columbia Business School and has been a guest lecturer on real estate topics at the Columbia Business School, Wharton Business School, the University of Maryland School of Law and the Carey School of Business. He has served on the Board of Trustees at Saint Ignatius Loyola Academy, the Bryn Mawr School, Walters Art Museum, Gilman School, Center Stage, Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust, Bay Bank, FSB as well as the Charles Street Development Corporation.

If you lived here you’d be home by now

It’s Friday afternoon. Your car is in a sea of traffic, slowly slogging its way out of an overcrowded city. And just ahead, on the side of the busy road, you see a row of well-maintained apartments next to a billboard that trumpets, “If you lived here, you’d be home by now!” A roadside billboard is just one of the many ways to reach potential residents. Property managers of multifamily real estate need to be very strategic about using collateral and marketing tactics that 1) maximize their advertising budget, and 2) build a brand for that particular property. WPM Director of Multimedia Marketing and Communications Brent Gratton describes his process for achieving these two objectives for a brand new or takeover property. “A lease-up property has no face. It’s up to us to communicate a property’s points of distinction. When we start, we look at who is the resident or demographic for this property. Will it largely be students? Is it intended to be high end? Then we put ourselves in the shoes of that target market.” From there, Gratton’s team creates collateral—the collection of media used for marketing—that helps the property stand out to that specific potential resident. “We understand that perspective residents have choices. There may be five different properties in the same area with similar amenities. So how can we help our property stand out? One strategy is helping the resident envision his or her life in our property. All of the images and language of our collateral depicts the lifestyle the resident will enjoy if they lived here. For example, we may create a sidebar of ‘Things to do’ on a brochure or webpage so that they can picture what their first Saturday as a resident would look like.” Another essential element in Gratton’s narrative about a property is the promise of community. “People don’t want just a residence, they want a community,” he explains. “We foster camaraderie among neighbors by hosting and encouraging social events, such as ‘yappy hours’ for pet owners, wine night mixers or even creative events like a murder mystery dinner. These events help residents feel more at home because they build friendships with each other. This, in turn, helps us because it means they are more likely to stay. Naturally, a property with a great sense of community is a selling point that we are certain to highlight when reaching out to potential residents.” Obviously, this is too much information to fit on a billboard! So which media provide the best options for getting a property’s “story” in front of potential residents? Gratton asserts that the best way to reach perspective residents is online. “Print advertising is no longer the way to go,” he explains. “The best way to maximize your marketing dollars is to place ads on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google.” Not only are these placements often less expensive than traditional print, they boast the added benefits of “re-targeting”—a cookie-based technology that anonymously follows the target buyer all over the web—and returning valuable analytics about the ad’s performance, such as the click-through rate. These ads then drive traffic to a property’s website, another key piece of the suite of marketing materials that tell a property’s story and paint the scene for potential residents. So back to that roadside billboard… Chances are, if you, as a weary commuter, were interested in avoiding traffic and moving into those tempting apartments, at the next stoplight, you might pull up that property’s website on your phone. And if Gratton’s team did their job well, you would spend a few moments picturing what your life would be like if you lived there. And later that night, when you finally made it home and were relaxing and scrolling through Facebook, an ad for that property would “re-target” you and show up in your newsfeed. Next thing you know, you’ve clicked-through to the website to view gorgeous property images and imagine how much fun you’d have at a community wine night and how convenient it would be to be able to walk to so many nice restaurants… And before you know it, the combination of great storytelling and advertising placement may just have the desired effect of converting you from commuter and prospective resident to resident.