Yardi Matrix vice president Jeff Adler delivered an in-depth update on the state of the U.S. economy and the multifamily investment landscape last week, covering everything from inflation to recession risk to post-pandemic in-office trends. You can review the recording of the webinar and presentation materials here. Industry insiders know that these webinars are among the very best way to stay up to date on trends, performance and data. The next Matrix webinar will cover the outlook for the student housing sector on Oct. 25. You can sign up here. Among the key Yardi Matrix house view takeaways on the economy: U.S. economic growth is still strong, at 2.4 percent GDP growth in Q2 and strong early numbers for Q3 Inflationary pressures have started to cool, but remain elevated due to underlying price pressures Labor market is tight, but showing signs of softening “Inflationary pressures have been cooling, they remain a bit elevated, they are coming down. Maybe not as quickly as the Fed would hope,” Adler said. He still anticipates that a mild recession is on the way, likely landing in Q4 or the first half of 2024. “It’s a little hard for me to pinpoint exactly, but the process is pretty much played out, if not the exact timing of it.” Top line takeaways for those interested specifically in the multifamily sector: The market continues to outperform expectations, despite decelerating rent growth Regional market rotation is underway. Examples include slowing performance of Lifestyle units in the Sunbelt, due to increased supply, and outperformance in Midwest, Northeast and some Mountain metros This market rotation is due to affordability, which has become a primary focus for renters and pundits alike Supply shortage of U.S. housing is likely to be in place for the next decade “Rent growth has slowed down. We’re now looking at a tenth of a point in August over July,” Adler stated. Sequential rent growth is also very weak. While beneficial for multifamily operators, one of the sector’s greatest challenges is housing supply and affordability, which go hand in hand. “The housing deficit that built up from the Great Recession is still there. Regulatory costs account for 40 percent of multifamily development costs,” Adler noted. Some states, like California, Texas and Florida, but still have a long way to go. “If you really want to solve the problem, you got to have supply of all kinds. Where we have seen rents come down or decelerate, it’s been in markets with lots of supply,” he stated. One of the most interesting points shared in the webinar was how in-office work trends have played out over the last year. Data was delivered by Scoop. These metrics are relevant to the housing market because they determine how much flexibility workers have with where they live. Key takeaways included: The majority of U.S. companies, 61 percent, are allowing workers some in-office/remote flexibility The average in-office requirement time per week is currently 2.6 days Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington are the states with the most flexibility for remote work. The least flexible are Alabama, Kentucky and Arkansas Bottom line, rise in remote work has allowed workers to leave cities for more suburban areas, leading to declining population in some metros Want to gain all the great insight from Wednesday’s webinar? Find the recording of the webinar and presentation materials here and get...
Yardi & NAREIM
Dynamic Collaboration
Since its founding in 1990, NAREIM has promoted best practices for real estate investment management with an array of education, networking, research, thought leadership and student program opportunities. Yardi has consistently supported NAREIM events as a sponsor, exhibitor and presenter over the years. Close out 2023 on a high note by joining the Yardi Investment Suite team at these dynamic NAREIM events: Event: NAREIM Executive Officer Meeting Date: Oct. 4-6 Place: Deer Valley, Utah Summary: Roundtable sessions and group discussions on building effective relationships, creating organizational strategies, and meeting the challenge of finding the right skills for asset management, transactions and portfolio management. Extras: Alpine slide and tubing down the 90K ski jump at the Park City Olympic Village. Meet with Yardi: Fill out a contact form. Event: NAREIM Capital Raising & IR Date: Dec. 6-7 Place: New York CitySummary: NAREIM Capital Raising & Investor Relations committee update, followed by sessions on managing ESG and DEI issues, elevating fundraising skills, raising capital from non-institutional sources and looking ahead to 2024. Extras: Networking dinner at the Liberty Bistro in downtown Manhattan. Meet with Yardi: Fill out a contact...
Student Housing in Strong Spot
To start the 23/24 School Year
The student housing sector starts the school year in a strong position, as preleasing matches last year’s solid performance and year-over-year rent growth has continually outpaced 2022’s historic growth. Student housing is one of the few real estate sectors to be continually resilient post-pandemic, according to the latest National Student Housing Report from Yardi® Matrix, which is now available for download. You can also join the upcoming Student Housing Webinar with Matrix experts on Oct. 25 and gain more in-depth insight. As of August 2023, 94 percent of beds at Yardi 200 universities were preleased, a 3.3 percent increase from the prior month and 0.2 percent behind August 2022. Rents remained flat in August from July at $845 per bed, but year-over-year rent growth of 6.9 percent in August was still well above the historic average for the sector. “As we enter the 2023-2024 school year, student housing preleasing matches last year’s solid trend and year-over-year rent growth has continually outpaced last year’s historic growth, as well as other property sectors,” say Matrix analysts in the new report. “The sector is in prime position to weather a potential recession, with counter-cyclical demand patterns and solid occupancy and rent growth baked in for the 2023-2024 school year.” Strong fundamentals continue to fuel development, and Matrix projects approximately 40,000 new beds to deliver in fall 2023 at Yardi 200 universities, compared to the 27,000 delivered in fall 2022. Solid preleasing and rent growth suggest that much of the new supply has already been absorbed. Read more findings from the latest student housing report. The student housing data set includes over 2,000 universities and colleges nationwide, including the top 200 investment grade universities across all major collegiate conferences. Known as the “Yardi 200,” it includes all Power 5 conferences as well as Carnegie R1 and R2 universities. Yardi Matrix offers the industry’s most comprehensive market intelligence tool for investment professionals, equity investors, lenders and property managers who underwrite and manage investments in commercial real estate. Yardi Matrix covers multifamily, student housing, vacant land, industrial, office, retail and self storage property types. Email [email protected], call 480-663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn...
Cancer Care Inc.
Help and Hope
Yardi is committed to supporting the community in every city where our offices are housed. Each year, the company distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees. In 2022, Yardi offices supported more than 350 nonprofits worldwide. For the remainder of the year, we will bring you the stories of those organizations and insight into how they aid their communities. Today, we introduce you to CancerCare Inc., out of New York City, NY, founded in 1944. CancerCare is the leading national organization that provides free, professional support services, including resource navigation, counseling, support groups, educational workshops, publications and financial assistance to anyone affected by cancer. All CancerCare services are provided by master ’s-prepared oncology social workers and world-leading cancer experts. CancerCare will continue to support those affected by cancer through many supportive programs but plans to broaden its reach by focusing on health equity and addressing health disparities its clients face. Funding from Yardi enables CancerCare to continue to provide free services to those in need. The Healing Hearts Family Bereavement camp depends on sponsors to support the camp weekend. Without the support, they could not host the weekend for bereaved families. “CancerCare is grateful for Yardi’s support, which has helped so many patients, caregivers and bereaved,” shares Kathy Nugent, LCSW, senior director of regional programs for CancerCare. (pictured, left) Yardi has supported CancerCare through the years at its Annual Walk for Hope and, most recently, through the Do Something Campaign. “Yardi employees have been generous, enabling us to continue supporting the community. Suzann Silverman, a Yardi employee, has a strong connection to CancerCare and has been instrumental in maintaining this strong support from Yardi,” Nugent said. Silverman (pictured, lower right), editorial director for Yardi-owned publications Commercial Property Executive and Multihousing News, delivered...
Revolutionize Learning
With Multifunctional Training
Are you ready to revolutionize your company’s training and onboarding processes? Say goodbye to traditional learning plans and welcome the era of multifunctional, cutting-edge assignments that will take your employees’ learning experience to new heights. According to Sapling HR, the average new hire is expected to complete 54 activities during their onboarding process. These activities help ensure the employee is set up for success in their new role. With the latest advancements in learning management systems, it’s time to unlock the power of consolidated tasks and personalized learning paths. Gone are the days of cumbersome paperwork and disjointed training modules. Multifunctional learning plans consolidate onboarding tasks, form completions, training and email campaigns, all while seamlessly tracking progress on a single assignment. Imagine the convenience of having everything your new employees need in a centralized learning plan, where they can refresh skills or revisit resources at any time. So, what exactly can these multifunctional learning plans offer? Let’s explore the various elements that can be included in an Aspire learning plan to make it more inclusive of steps that might otherwise be completed outside of the LMS with less efficiency or consistency: Narrative instructions: Engage your employees through dynamic video and text instructions that provide clear guidance and foster a deeper understanding of the tasks at hand. Self-paced courses and live training: Combine the flexibility of self-paced online courses with interactive live training sessions. Empower your employees to learn at their own pace while still benefiting from valuable real-time interactions. Company policies and resources: Ensure that your employees have easy access to essential company policies, procedures and other valuable resources that help them navigate their roles with confidence. Graded online assignments and quizzes: Assess your employees’ progress and knowledge retention through engaging online assignments and quizzes. Provide immediate feedback and promote a continuous learning cycle. Customizable acknowledgements: Tailor tasks with customizable acknowledgments to recognize your employees’ achievements and motivate them to reach new milestones. Reference content and checklists: Equip employees with reference materials and checklists that serve as handy reminders and support their learning journey. Esign documents and forms: Simplify administrative processes by integrating electronic signatures for documents, forms and checklists, ensuring seamless completion and reducing paperwork. Pre-scheduled custom letters: Strengthen communication and engagement by automating pre-scheduled custom letters that provide personalized updates, encouragement and important information. But why settle for the basics when you can take your learning plans to the next level? Unlock even more potential with these advanced features: Elective steps with “Choose Your Path” options: Cater to diverse learning preferences by offering elective steps that allow employees to choose their own learning paths. Empower them to explore topics that resonate with their interests and goals. Pre-scheduled refresher training campaigns: Ensure long-term knowledge retention and skill enhancement by automating pre-scheduled refresher training campaigns. Keep critical concepts top of mind, solidify understanding and support long-term change. Ensure long-term knowledge retention and skill development by adding pre-scheduled refresher training courses that auto-unlock days or weeks after the learning plan is completed. Surveys, polls and chat groups: Foster a sense of community by creating learning plan task steps. Prompt employees to participate in a chat group or a class discussion thread to fulfill an assignment. Test out for advanced learners: Customize learning paths to accommodate different skill levels. Let advanced learners demonstrate their proficiency by testing out of certain modules, while beginners benefit from hands-on field trips or experiential learning opportunities. Step-specific student nudge emails: Keep your employees motivated and on track authorizing the LMS to send nudge email campaigns when unlocked steps need attention. Available nudges include deadline reminders, encouragement, and tips and tricks. Point rewards and badges: Gamify your learning plans by incorporating point rewards and badges as employees progress through key milestones. Embrace the future of employee development with consolidated learning plans that deliver highly personalized experiences while simplifying access and messaging. Ready to embark on this...
My Possibilities
Inclusion for Everyone
Yardi is committed to supporting the community in every city where our offices are housed. Each year, the company distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees. Today, we introduce My Possibilities (MP), a nonprofit organization in Plano, Texas, founded in 2008, and North Texas’ number one continuing education and job placement program for adults with Intellectual and/or Developmental Disabilities (IDD). My Possibilities’ mission is the relentless pursuit of full, untapped possibilities for all Hugely Important People (HIPsters) and has seen rapid growth over the past 15 years. “In the past year, MP has matched the HIPsters we serve with major employers such as JPMC, Bank of America, REI, Toyota, Trader Joe’s, and a host of other inclusive employers,” says Rhys Wolf, marketing and communications manager for MP. My Possibilities has had substantial success rates. With the training services MP provides, both for the employee in job readiness and the corporate partner in accessibility, it has had over 70 job placements with a 100% success record lasting more than six months and over 90% for over a year. Regionally, MP is reframing how North Texas thinks about diversity, equity, inclusion and access for adults with IDD. MP has paved the way for inclusion and advocacy for adults with IDD. What started in a small storefront-turned-school supporting only 10 HIPsters quickly became a collegiate-style campus serving over 500 individuals weekly through high-quality continued education and vocational programming. “When three mothers first envisioned a life where their adult sons with IDD would thrive and find a meaningful place in the world, they dreamt of a program providing education, job training, and residential opportunities for their deserving children,” shared Wolf. This fall, the Employment Innovations School, powered by Bread Financial, will open and create space for...
Energy Buzz
What’s New with ARPA-E
Here’s the latest of our periodic reports on projects undertaken by businesses and academic institutions that are sponsored by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the U.S Department of Energy’s R&D arm. Domestic energy production projects In August, the DOE announced funding for 18 ARPA-E projects designed to establish potential new areas of technology development and information that could bolster domestic energy production, cut consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The funding recipients include: WH-Power of College Park, Md., which will develop a zinc battery – inherently safer and less expensive than existing batteries – that can operate at both high and low temperatures in residential and grid-scale energy storage applications. C-Crete Technologies of San Leandro, Calif., which will create new insulation for large power transformers that could save the U.S. economy tens of billions of dollars annually by reducing the number of power outages associated with transformer failures. The University of Notre Dame, which will design a low-cost power transistor for devices used in electric vehicles, industrial power control and more. The proposed design could lead to possible energy savings of one quadrillion British Thermal Units per year, about 1% of annual energy consumption in the U.S. Perseus Materials of Knoxville, Tenn., which will develop new composite wind turbine blade manufacturing modes that could reduce labor costs, cycle times and factory footprints at the same output levels. Clean energy and data centers Another round of funding announced in June earmarked $100 million to support the commercialization of clean energy technologies. In May, 15 projects received $40 million from ARPA-E to develop high-performance, energy efficient cooling solutions for data centers that house computers, storage systems and computing infrastructure. Data centers account for approximately 2% of total U.S. electricity consumption while data center cooling can...
Yardi IM on the Road
Q4 Events Preview
The Yardi Investment Management team has a full slate of events across the country as the 4th quarter beckons. Along with cosponsoring several of these major industry forums and conferences, Yardi sends expert teams to demonstrate the value of the Yardi Investment Suite, an end-to-end technology platform that automates the real estate investment lifecycle. Key upcoming real estate investment events include: IMN Real Estate CFO & COO Forum Date: Oct. 2 Place: New York City Geared toward CFOs, COOs, tax and accounting officers, controllers and treasurers, the 11th annual staging of this event offers insights from real estate developers, lenders, REITs and operating companies. Sessions focus on trends in accounting, regulations and technology, along with fund raising, the power of AI and more. See more event information. IMN Real Estate Family Office and Private Wealth Management Forum Date: Oct. 4-5 Place: Miami This event showcases opportunities in the family office asset class, which allocates about 15% of its portfolio to real estate direct investments. This forum is suited to asset managers, debt and equity financiers, family business owners and investment consultants, among others. Learn more and meet with the Yardi team. IMN Middle-Market Multifamily Forum West, Northeast and Arizona Date: Sept. 19-20 (West), Oct. 10 (Northeast), Nov. 13-14 (Arizona) Place: Carlsbad, Calif. (West), New York (Northeast), Litchfield Park, Ariz. (Arizona) Targeting small and mid-sized multifamily owners and operators, these deep dives explore issues, opportunities, strategies and trends that impact a class that comprises 75% of all multifamily investors. Value-add strategies, working with institutional capital and the “acquisitions shark tank” are among the industry leader-led sessions on tap. Learn more about the Carlsbad, New York and Litchfield Park events. Learn more about the industry events that Yardi participates in as a sponsor, expert and...
Yardi Senior IQ
New Features, Fresh Enhancements
We’re thrilled to announce the newest features in Yardi Senior IQ — our dynamic business intelligence solution for senior living. From brand-new dashboards to improved reporting capabilities, each enhancement is available now! That means if you’re currently using Senior IQ, you can start enjoying the latest functionality right away. We roll everything out automatically to make the transition as easy as possible for our senior living clients. Ready to see what’s new? Read the highlights below to learn what this release brings to the table. Explore what’s new For starters, we’d like to thank our amazing senior living clients for providing feedback on Senior IQ. The following enhancements are inspired by what’s been shared with our team, and we’re pleased to continue evolving Senior IQ based on our clients’ wants and needs. First up, we’ve made it easier to use Senior IQ as a central location for gathering key data and generating reports — and to share that data with teams across your organization. Enjoy the ability to quickly reference miscellaneous reports and dashboards, displaying the KPIs most important to your organization, in routine meetings, variance calls, department check-ins and even at community stand-ups. Moving on, in relation to labor and staffing, we’ve added the ability to integrate your daily labor data. This allows you to analyze overtime — sorted by department and job positions — and identify areas for improvement. Next up, we have three new dashboards! Here’s a snapshot of what they offer: CRM success metrics dashboard — as the first of its kind, this CRM dashboard presents key metrics regarding occupancy, closing ratios, lead status, sales counselor performance and more. Leasing documents dashboard — serving as a usage check for those operating with electronic leasing, this dashboard captures...
Changemakers 2023 Concludes
New Ebook Released!
It’s a wrap on the 2023 Changemakers series, which we’ve proudly sponsored for the fifth year in a row. We’re delighted to have joined Senior Housing News (SHN) throughout the series to present the class of honorees — nine in total — sharing their insightful interviews here on The Balance Sheet. To mark the conclusion of the series, SHN released a compilation of exclusive interview excerpts in a brand-new ebook. You can download the ebook today to access unseen stories, insights and advice from each Changemaker. Once again, congratulations to each and every Changemaker honoree — Yardi senior living clients included! Yardi clients named 2023 Changemakers With the ebook available now, it’s only fitting we recognize our senior living clients for their interview contributions — and celebrate them for their role in this year’s Changemakers series. We’re so pleased to congratulate: Earl Parker of Commonwealth Senior Living Jodi Guffee of Radiant Senior Living Doug Dollenberg, Jr. of Brightview Senior Living Rod Burkett of Gardant Management Solutions Sarabeth Hanson of Harbor Retirement Associates Doris-Ellie Sullivan of Retirement Unlimited, Inc. About the series As the senior living industry navigates ever-changing challenges, owners, operators and executives are breaking the status quo to adapt and evolve. Leaders have created leaner operations, improved efficiency and transformed the way they do business entirely through technology adoption. Through it all, they continue to push the boundaries of what it means to be industry leaders and visionaries. Now sponsored by Yardi for the fifth consecutive year, the Changemakers series recognizes and celebrates the most innovative leaders in senior living today. Learn more about the annual interview series by SHN. Read this year’s Changemakers ebook We hope you’ve enjoyed the Changemakers series to date — we’ve certainly enjoyed sharing each honoree’s story with you. If you’re ready for bonus insights from this year’s Changemakers, explore the ebook. If you have any questions about how Yardi supports operators with our dynamic senior living software — don’t hesitate to schedule time to connect with...
Insurance Costs
Lead Multifamily Expense Increases
Rising costs for multifamily operators are the focus of a new research bulletin from Yardi Matrix. Expenses for multifamily properties nationally grew by an average of 9.3 percent in the trailing 12-month period ending in June. That growth is 63 percent higher than the 5.7 percent increase during the previous 12 months, according to the new Matrix research. The recent increase in expenses represents $740 in additional costs per unit at the average U.S. multifamily property, with the average property operating expense rising to $8,694 per unit, per year, according to Matrix. Insurance led the way in rising expenses. Policy costs were up 18.8 percent on average in the 12- month reporting period. Other expense categories with large jumps include repairs and maintenance (14.2 percent), administrative (11.8 percent), and utilities and payroll (both 7.8 percent). “Rapid expense growth comes at an inopportune time for the industry. After a long bull market, asking rent growth has decelerated and is likely to remain weak in many metros as deliveries hit levels last seen in the 1980s,” state Matrix experts. “Also, the big jump in mortgage rates .. has produced a large increase in debt-service costs for properties that need new mortgages.” Learn more about the expense increases and the impact on multifamily owners and operators. Yardi Matrix offers the industry’s most comprehensive market intelligence tool for investment professionals, equity investors, lenders and property managers who underwrite and manage investments in commercial real estate. Yardi Matrix covers multifamily, student housing, vacant land, industrial, office, retail and self storage property types. Email [email protected], call 480-663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn...
National Assisted Living Week
Yardi Clients Host Celebrations
National Assisted Living Week (NALW) is here! If you’re unfamiliar, NALW is an annual initiative established by the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) that celebrates assisted living communities and the individuals they serve. The week-long initiative encourages communities to offer events in observance of a specific theme — announced by NCAL each year — for residents, family members, staff and volunteers to enjoy. The inspiring theme for 2023 — Season of Reflection — is all about pausing to reflect on the important things in life, including the special bonds created within assisted living communities. And to no surprise, our Yardi senior living clients are doing just that — encouraging thoughtful reflection through a variety of creative events and heartfelt messages across social media. We’re pleased to share a snapshot of what these fantastic clients have done so far, and we applaud each and every community celebrating NALW this year. Not only do the celebrations spark an appreciation for residents, staff and more — but they also help spread awareness on the importance of assisted living in the U.S. Yardi clients celebrate National Assisted Living Week Thrive Senior Living took to social media in spirit of NALW, sharing an informative video with helpful tips for choosing the right community. They also posted a sweet thank you message on LinkedIn to recognize their associates for changing the lives of residents across Thrive communities. “Thank you to all our AL staff for the helping hands you provide,” wrote Thrive in the post. Benchmark Senior Living joined the conversation with a thoughtful blog post focusing on the meaning behind NALW — and their devotion to this year’s theme. Sharing the blog post on LinkedIn, Benchmark wrote, “This year’s theme beautifully encapsulates what it means to feel gratitude for all we have and cherish each moment.” Read Benchmark’s blog post on NALW. Maplewood Senior Living also posted on social media in honor of NALW, sharing their excitement for the celebrations to come and noting the value of assisted living for today’s seniors. “We want to emphasize how assisted living can significantly contribute to seniors leading longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives,” shared Maplewood in the post. We can’t wait to see what else our clients have in store as NALW continues! Be sure to keep an eye on social media for additional posts. More about National Assisted Living Week Established by NCAL in 1995, National Assisted Living Week offers a unique opportunity to recognize the role of assisted living in caring for seniors, as well as individuals with disabilities. The annual observance encourages communities around the country to offer a variety of events and activities to celebrate the individuals they serve — and to help educate members of the public about this distinctive aspect of long term care. Each year, NCAL releases a variety of resources to help communities prepare for the week-long observance, including an extensive planning guide with suggestions for activities, media tips and more. Enjoy #NALW! To join the celebration and help spread awareness, be sure to use #NALW on social media! The observance spans from September 10-16. And be sure to check out the #NALW page on LinkedIn to see what’s been shared so far. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to those across assisted living for all that you do — Yardi clients included. Not a client and curious to learn how we support communities with our dynamic solutions? Reach out to team...
Partners in Excellence
Yardi’s Fellow ENERGY STAR Honorees
Earlier this year, Yardi earned an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy after earning designation as Partner of the Year for five consecutive years. The award recognizes Yardi’s efforts in 2022 to help clients benchmark energy and water usage, obtain green financing, expand their energy management skills at Yardi Advanced Solutions Conferences and incorporate ENERGY STAR into an energy management software dashboard. Yardi was joined by a distinguished roster of fellow Sustained Excellence Award recipients from numerous industries across the country. Here’s a sampling. Commercial food service equipment manufacturer ITW Food Equipment Group of Troy, Ohio, increased ENERGY STAR-certified product offerings across its seven brands, trained its entire staff on ENERGY STAR and promoted the program’s benefits to end-users and distributors. ITW also introduced new ENERGY STAR-certified products, such as fryers and ovens, and marketed the program extensively through press releases, blog posts, website content and social media. Los Angeles-based home builder KB Home built more than 12,000 ENERGY STAR-certified homes in 2022 and generated more than 120 million impressions for an upcoming energy-smart connected community development that will include 200+ ENERGY STAR-certified homes. KB Home also promoted ENERGY STAR across various online platforms. Cenergistic, a Dallas sustainability consulting company, benchmarked more than 1,000 properties and integrated ENERGY STAR into all of its client services. The company submitted 341 ENERGY star certification and recertification applications, implemented energy management plans for its clients and posted ENERGY STAR content on social media. Nissan North America Inc., based in Franklin, Tenn., used ENERGY STAR tools and resources to reduce the energy intensity of its North American operations. The motor vehicle manufacturer achieved ENERGY STAR certifications for two manufacturing plants and hosted energy treasure hunts that identified over 18,139 metric million British thermal units in potential energy savings. Nissan also provided pro bono engineer reviews that helped 16 schools earn ENERGY STAR certification. EnergyLogic Inc., a home energy rating and applied building science company in Berthoud, Colo., provided technical support and training for home energy raters, program stakeholders and other industry professionals to ensure consistent application of ENERGY STAR program requirements. Its building science consultations incorporated trends, materials, systems and technologies that enhanced its clients’ ENERGY STAR success in 2022. The Des Moines Public Schools district in Iowa became an ENERGY STAR Certification Nation Premier Member by earning certification for 36 schools in 2022. The district also saved $1 million in energy costs that year. Financial services provider MetLife Inc. of New York City achieved ENERGY STAR certification for 30 properties, published three white papers on decarbonization and launched a campaign to increase the quantity and quality of portfolio-wide whole building energy data. MetLife also established a target to achieve net-zero emissions for its global operations and general account investment portfolio no later than 2050. St. Louis-based smart thermostat manufacturer Emerson Sensi conducted more than 1,200 ENERGY STAR training sessions for contractors in 2022 and offered ENERGY STAR-certified thermostats that are compatible with major smart home ecosystems such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple Home and Samsung SmartThings. Sensi also featured ENERGY STAR messaging on its retail products’ packaging. See the complete list of ENERGY STAR Award winners for 2023. Learn how Yardi helps commercial and residential real estate companies achieve their energy and sustainability...
Jonathan Gonzalez
Yardi Employee Profile
Meet another sensational Yardi employee, Jonathan Gonzalez, team lead for the commercial Voyager Client Success TX 1 team who began his journey as an intern. Yardi’s offices have many internship opportunities for those interested in learning about exciting and expansive world of real estate technology. Meet Jonathan Gonzalez Jonathan Gonzalez has been at Yardi for nearly five years and became a team lead for commercial in July 2022. He works with clients to achieve success with the products they are licensed for and finds new ways to improve their work lives with Yardi’s complete product line. He also works with his team to ensure they succeed in providing an excellent customer service experience and developing their careers. “I put a heavy emphasis on being available for my team, especially since we have transitioned to a hybrid work structure. My goal is to be available as much as possible to build relationships with my team members while also providing them with the mentoring they need to grow,” says Gonzalez. In addition to his team, Gonzalez assists his clients in achieving the maximum results with their licensed products. He spends his days reaching out to perform health check calls with clients to review their system usage and assist with critical escalations to ensure they are well taken care of. Gonzalez takes pride in having satisfied clients with support and confidence within his team that is more willing to utilize Yardi’s full product load. “Helping my clients achieve success in all their Yardi products is what I most enjoy about working at Yardi. Seeing my clients fully functioning and happy with their software gives me a sense of purpose for my work,” shares Gonzalez. Confident Colleagues Gonzalez enjoys the welcoming environment of Yardi, where everyone is eager to see success...
Online Coursework
The Core of Yardi Aspire
What do you think of when you hear the words Yardi Aspire? If you know Aspire helps property managers train their team, then you may think online courses are what it has to offer. And, you wouldn’t be wrong. But, of course, over the years, Aspire has grown. We’ve added new features and technologies that are benefiting property managers from every component of the industry, including: commercial, affordable, PHA, multifamily, industrial and every other type of property managed by our clients. Yardi launched Aspire in 2013, and over the years it’s grown into a complete learning management solution (LMS). Aspire helps trainers and human resources professionals develop talent, track growth, communicate with employees, host live meetings, maintain compliance with government regulations, and much more. And through all of that development, it’s true that on-demand, online classes are among the most popular features of Yardi Aspire. Every training program relies on content, and Aspire comes with hundreds of predesigned courses covering topics for professional roles found in property management. Aspire clients also have access to tools to design their own custom content. With all of that available standard in Aspire, it’s no wonder many of us still think of the Aspire LMS as primarily a tool for getting on-demand coursework onto the screens of employees. So, let’s take a moment to recognize the benefits of online classes. What better way to do so than by highlighting how we at Yardi use them to train our own team? Enhancing Learning with a Curated Learning Approach Aspire helps Yardi drive seamless, personalized online experiences and workflows for employee tasks and activities. It helps our company craft and consolidate work activities into centralized, simplified and highly accessible assignments. We benefit from Aspire by seeing higher employee success and...
Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper
Working for Clean Water
Yardi is committed to supporting the community in every city where our offices are housed. Each year, the company distributes philanthropic aid to organizations selected by its employees. In 2022, Yardi offices supported more than 350 nonprofits worldwide. For the remainder of the year, we will bring you the stories of those organizations and insight into how they aid their communities. Today, we are back in Santa Barbara and introduce you to Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, founded in 1999. Santa Barbara Channelkeeper works to protect water quality, restore aquatic ecosystems, advocate for clean water, enforce environmental laws and educate and engage citizens in implementing solutions to water pollution and marine habitat degradation. With a new five-year plan, they are committed to core clean water work and will be adding new work areas to address the impacts of climate change in their region. Channelkeeper’s mission is to protect the Santa Barbara Channel and its watershed through science-based education, advocacy, field work and enforcement. “In addition to actively monitoring pollution levels in waterways along the coast and inspiring the next generation of environmental stewards, we also represent the community’s interest in clean water through advocacy by presenting data and speaking before government agencies to advance policies that better protect the environment, local waterways, and habitats,” said Laura Sanchez, communications director for Channelkeeper. Channelkeeper offers on-the-water education programs that bring science to life for students and leave a lasting impression. “Our Sea and Shore Explorers program connects young people to their watershed and provides them with an opportunity to experience Santa Barbara from a kayak,” said Sanchez. Students learn to paddle a kayak and observe wildlife while navigating around the Santa Barbara Harbor. Students then discover more about coastal marine ecosystems during a visit to the Sea Center. “This year, we lead seven kayak trips, and for many of these students, it was their first kayaking experience,” shares Sanchez. Students also can go on Seafari Cruises aboard Channelkeeper’s boat, where they learn about the kelp forest, pollution and climate change. In addition to educating local students about the environment, Channelkeeper focuses on and prioritizes the following: Monitor local waterways to track down and eliminate pollution sources Working with the City of Santa Barbara to reassess and reduce the number of cruise ship arrivals to meet community environmental priorities Remove trash, marine debris and abandoned fishing gear from waterways and coastline Revive the Ventura River by working to secure a lasting agreement so that the river’s flow in its lower reaches supports fish, wildlife, and the community’s access to nature Secure more vital water quality rules to prevent agricultural pollution Lobster trap clean-ups This past spring, volunteers with the Watershed Brigade, Channelkeeper’s trash-fighting community program, removed more than 2,300 pounds of lobster traps and marine debris from two beaches: Pink Sand Beach on Santa Cruz Island and a stretch of coast between Leadbetter and Mesa Lane in Santa Barbara. When lobster traps accumulate on the beach, they pose a hazard to wildlife and beachgoers. During both cleanup events, volunteers dug out traps and loaded them onto a vessel, which hauled them away for proper disposal. “For the last three years, we have partnered with the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara to organize lobster trap removals at local beaches identified as “hot spots” for lobster traps,” Sanchez shares. Yardi Volunteer Opportunities Channelkeeper welcomes Yardi employees to partner with them on clean-up events. They also offer opportunities to become MPA Watch volunteers to help them monitor human activity in and around the Channel’s coastal marine protected areas. In addition, join the Watershed Brigade to help keep the Channel’s watershed and the coastal regions clean. With Yardi’s support, Channelkeeper can do the work to protect the Santa Barbara Channel and be an inspiration to future environmental keepers. “Together, we’re making powerful, positive changes for the environment, wildlife, our community, and our future,” Sanchez shared. Find future non-profit profiles...
Property Energy Data Requirements
The Yardi Role
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires commercial and multifamily building owners to improve performance in energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water use among other aspects of building operations. With compliance deadlines approaching, several jurisdictions are stepping up their energy benchmarking efforts. Indianapolis, Miami and New Jersey, for example, have deadlines this year. Deadlines for New York City, St. Louis and Denver come in 2024, with Washington, D.C., Boston and others to follow over the next two years. That’s why the EPA has been working to raise awareness of the importance of aggregated whole building data and ways that states and utility providers can provide it to property owners. This data delivers visibility into energy consumption and helps create a roadmap for instituting ongoing operational improvements. “Demand for this data will grow as building owners seek new federal incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act that require documentation of whole-building performance as a condition of participation,” the EPA says. EPA has also advised states on passing laws that can overcome barriers utilities face in providing data. Such laws can create a path to cover costs associated with providing the data and define requirements to protect individual tenant data. The EPA will launch a full-fledged campaign over the coming months, in partnership with key building owner associations, to raise awareness of the need for this data among state policymakers and utilities. How Yardi can help What is Yardi’s connection to property owners satisfying these EPA requirements? The company’s advanced software and service solutions “simplify the aggregation of whole building data collection and reporting for environmental, social and governance purposes. The first step is gathering data from multiple sources and identifying efficient and inefficient buildings,” says Joe Consolo, industry principal for Yardi Energy. He adds, “Tracking an asset’s performance over time is also critically important. Having received an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award and earned ongoing ENERGY STAR certification for our corporate headquarters, Yardi has the expertise to work with utilities and our client building owners, tenants and residents on these priorities.” Learn more about Yardi’s comprehensive energy management solutions for energy management solutions for residential and commercial...
Voyager 8 Announced at YASC 2023
Infinite Possibilities in San Diego
Yardi’s Advanced Solutions Conference kicked off Wednesday morning with over 4,000 attendees – making it the largest YASC ever – in attendance at the San Diego Convention Center. “We have 4,000 of the best minds in real estate in San Diego this week,” observed Esther Bonardi, a vice president at Yardi, as a packed room eagerly anticipated remarks from Anant Yardi, the company’s founder and CEO; as well as executives Rob Teel, Akshai Rao and Kevin Yardi. Anant Yardi, founder and CEO of Yardi, speaks at YASC in San Diego on Sept. 6, 2023. Photo credit: Julian Thomas, Yardi staff. The YASC opening session always offers an overview of real estate technology trends and insight into how they might play out within Yardi’s single connected solution for real estate companies. This year brought an especially exciting reveal: Voyager 8 is currently in limited release to clients and will be widely available beginning in January 2024. “The biggest thing with Voyager 8 to get excited about is the user experience. The user interface is completely different. It’s a big leap from Voyager 7S. It’s not a leap in terms of the upgrade process, though,” said Rob Teel, president of global solutions. “We are really excited about the upgrade process. This is going to be an opportunity for you to decide which users you want to start using Voyager 8. They can use 7S or 8, so you don’t have to choose. You can allow your users to get comfortable with Voyager 8 as you start to roll this out,” said Akshai Rao, president of residential. Clients were able to get detailed demos and highlights of the forthcoming release in spotlight sessions unique to their real estate verticals on Wednesday morning. In addition to the new user experience and simple upgrade process, Voyager 8 is built for compatibility with artificial intelligence (AI), promising a continual opportunity for real estate companies to use the new technology for efficiency and smoother operations. AI and real estate AI’s implications for business functions like marketing are evident across industries, but what about specific uses for real estate? That question was at the heart of Anant Yardi’s remarks on Wednesday morning. Noting that Yardi is fully committed to making use of AI in the most constructive and beneficial ways possible, Mr. Yardi said that he sees the incorporation of the technology as a gradual one. “The future of AI in real estate is not going to be some big bang type of change, that’s not going to happen,” Mr. Yardi said. He noted that Yardi has already made infrastructure investments that will provide processing bandwidth required for AI systems. Teel and Rao provided a look at Yardi products where AI is already incorporated and will have a growing role moving forward. They include chatbots, which already provide automated answers to prospect questions from multifamily clients; maintenance requests, which could be assigned prioritization and dispatch by AI; and a virtual Voyager assistant who will answer software questions, thanks to AI. “We are fully committed to this change and look at this as an opportunity to grow,” Mr. Yardi said. “Anytime there’s an opportunity to embrace and acknowledge change, I think lurking behind it, you’ll see an opportunity for growth.” Spotlight on corporate philanthropy The general session concluded with a look at Yardi’s corporate focus on philanthropy, which has been a longtime priority for the company. “Our guiding principles over the last 40 years and for the next 40 years are to take care of our clients, employees and communities, and candidly, we don’t often talk about what it means to take care of our communities, so I wanted to take this opportunity to spend a few minutes on it,” said Kevin Yardi, vice president. “We provide funding to our 40 offices around the world and our 9,000 employees help guide funding to nonprofits that are meaningful to...
Multifamily Rent Update
From Yardi Matrix
Multifamily performance was stable in August, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report. The average U.S. asking rent rose $1 to $1,728, while year-over-year growth fell to 1.5 percent, down 20 basis points from July. Occupancy was also effectively flat. “Economic growth continues to be stronger than expected, providing a backdrop to consistent multifamily demand. U.S. asking rents rose slightly in August, while occupancy rates remained strong at 95 percent,” states the report. These trends and much more will be discussed Sept. 20 in a multifamily-focused webinar with Matrix experts Jeff Adler and Paul Fiorilla. Sign up here to join live or receive the post-event recording. In the short term, supply remains a driving factor in rent growth. Most metros with the highest year-over-year asking rent growth, such as New York, Chicago, Indianapolis and San Diego, have weak new development pipelines. Single-family rents dropped back in August, down $6 nationally to $2,104. Year-over-year, national SFR rent growth fell 70 basis points to 0.5 percent. According to the report, some 190,000 multifamily units have been absorbed in the U.S. through July. That figure is below the record-setting year of almost 600,000 in 2021 but is otherwise a healthy pace. Among the top 30 Matrix metros, absorption in absolute numbers in 2023 has been led by Washington D.C., Phoenix, Miami, Chicago and Denver. As a percentage of stock, Charlotte, Tampa and Nashville are among the metros that have performed the best so far in 2023. Gain more insight in the new Yardi Matrix National Multifamily Report. Yardi Matrix offers the industry’s most comprehensive market intelligence tool for investment professionals, equity investors, lenders and property managers who underwrite and manage investments in commercial real estate. Yardi Matrix covers multifamily, student housing, industrial, office and self storage property types. Email [email protected], call (480) 663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn...
CRE Diversity
Inspiring Voices
Realcomm’s August two-part webinar series, Celebrating Women and the Diverse Voices in CRE, highlighted the talent, thought leadership and unique mindsets that have enhanced commercial and corporate real estate as more women, minorities and diverse thinkers fill executive leadership positions and advanced technology roles as well as facilitate key vendor partnerships. Insights on career paths and navigating challenges In session one, Leadership, Diversity & Evolving Company Cultures, the executive-level women panelists talked about how workplace culture reflects the values of company leadership and can shape employee interactions as well as promote motivation and loyalty. With new voices in the leadership space, the panel discussed changes in leadership modeling, evolving workplace challenges, the critical role that mentorship plays and how companies are attracting new talent. A big theme among the panelists’ stories of their personal journeys was about receiving mentorship and support and becoming a mentor themselves to help other people advance and open up opportunities. Further, working with good leaders taught them how to become good leaders. Another common theme was about advocating for yourself. Hope Dunleavy, enterprise managing consultant at RealFoundations, stressed the importance of reaching out, being authentic and sharing your story while also listening to others’ stories. The panel agreed on the importance of creating community for support — such as joining (or creating) a women’s group in your organization, which Kelly Soljacich, senior vice president of LaSalle Investment Management, recommended. Veronica Unnikrishnan, partner and senior vice president of innovation, sales and marketing at 5Q Partners, commented that choosing the right organization and positions that will lift you up “is where the magic happens” and will help you grow and develop your career. Further advice included choosing the best opportunity over the most money is a wise decision in the long...