Blog February 11, 2022

3 residential property tech trends to watch

By Chris Vroman

Technology adoption across the real estate industry has accelerated in recent years to say the least. Keeping up with the latest residential property tech trends can be difficult, but understanding the technologies that are popular today can help your organization stay ahead of the competition.

We’ve previously explored the impact that artificial intelligence (AI) is having on the real estate industry, but as this technology evolves, so do its applications in the multifamily, affordable, and public housing spaces. The right AI-powered technology solution can help your property business stay on top of emerging trends and new challenges, such as:

  • Staying one step ahead of fraudsters
  • Increasing resident engagement
  • Establishing and complying with ESG initiatives

Let’s take a look at the residential property tech trends that are gaining momentum in the industry and see how they could impact your business.

Trend 1: Manage risk and outsmart fraud with advanced technologies

Are you confident in your ability to spot fraud? Think again. Rental fraud is on the rise, and according to a survey from Forrester, 97% of property management companies have experienced fraud in the last two years. With fraudsters taking advantage of new technology to produce fake IDs and evade traditional screening procedures, shouldn’t the digital boom benefit property managers too?

Through the power of AI, your organization can protect against risk with ID verification tools that utilize facial recognition technology to identify imposters, screening processes that provide multifamily-specific credit scores to determine qualified prospects, and intelligent insurance programs that enable you to protect all the residents and staff at your community. Even as the jobs of property managers everywhere become more important and more challenging than ever, protecting against risk can be made easier with technology that fights risk and outsmarts fraud.

Trend 2: Provide flexible digital services for residents and prospects

Today’s multifamily prospects consist of younger generations that expect amazing resident experiences. Providing those experiences means keeping current residents happy in a connected community and engaging prospects by putting your best foot forward.

A prospect’s first impression of your property is a critical step that will likely take place in the digital world, and with comprehensive and easy-to-use technology, your organization can entice potential leads from the very first interaction and satisfy residents. Public-facing communication tools that keep you from missing a call can help you connect with prospects quickly, and online payment portals can enable residents to engage with your property in a flexible way that works best for them.

Trend 3: Using AI to support sustainability and ESG initiatives

In light of increased energy costs, consumer awareness, and legislative attention, sustainability is a main concern throughout the real estate industry. With commercial property organizations adopting new strategies to meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements, residential property managers are also thinking about how to reduce their carbon footprint.

Reducing energy usage across properties will require the use of “green clauses” in leases, and these clauses can be abstracted from contracts easily with an AI-powered lease abstraction tool. Alongside tools that can automatically analyze your property’s energy usage, this technology can help your residential organization take meaningful steps towards reducing your carbon footprint and saving money in the process.

Multifamily, affordable, and public housing spaces have all seen frequent shifts in market trends as a result of the pandemic, but by arming your organization with the latest technology, you’ll be able to meet the challenges of tomorrow and gain a competitive edge in the digital world. Learn more about how PropTech can help you address residential trends in this webinar.

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