5 Tech Trends to Attract New Lease

It can be hard to stand out in the multifamily property management industry, especially if the competition’s building down the street has similar amenities. Luckily, new and emerging technologies are providing new ways for companies to attract and win leases.

Here are 5 multifamily technology trends — a couple more attainable than others — to keep in mind when trying to attract multifamily renters:

Perhaps the most attainable, easiest existing technology to incorporate into your business strategy, mobile apps can help landlords screen prospective tenants’ backgrounds, track rent payments and maintenance requests. Having these technologies available to your tenants could help a prospective lease make the decision to sign with your building.

Providing the option of a virtual tour on your website is another easily adoptable feature for you property management company. Considering how busy people these days, a prospective lease no longer needs to visit the property to get an initial sense of the apartments, amenities or communal spaces. You can include a form on the virtual tour webpage to collect a prospect’s name, email address and phone number, giving your leasing office an easy way to follow up with leads.

Definitely a little more advanced than apps and virtual tours, but nonetheless within reach, drones gives the property management company the chance to showcase the surrounding area to the prospective tenant through video or photograph. The prospect can be directed to a landing page on your website featuring a panoramic shot or video of the neighborhood. In a way, the surrounding area is similar to a building amenity. Drone technology allows you to show off nearby walking and biking trails, public transit stops, local schools, and cool restaurants or coffee shops, presenting an engaging idea of what life is like in the area.

Now we’re getting into some more advanced forms of technologies property managers can take advantage of to attract new tenants. With Facebook’s Oculus Rift, HTC’s “Vive” and even Google Cardboard, virtual reality is one of the most written about tech trends. According to Property Management Insider, virtual reality “offers an engaging experience for multifamily prospects.” A step — or ten — above an online virtual tour, once a visitor puts on the virtual reality headset, they are immersed in a digital recreation of the apartment. The user can walk around, look up and down and interact as they would in person, and the scene changes accordingly.

Similar to Pokémon Go, augmented reality enhances what a person sees in real-life. With augmented reality, prospective leases can put a personal touch on the property by digitally layering their own furniture into a room. This allows them to visually see what their new home would look like so they fall in love with the property right away.