In the face of inflation and rising costs of living, some affordable housing residents may struggling this year. Here are some creative ways to provide for families at your properties. Residents could be struggling with rising grocery prices. Local food banks and kitchens are the best options. Create easily available resources, such as a website page or flyer posted in community common areas, letting residents know where they can find assistance with groceries. Many food banks provide healthy foods as well. Find a guide to local food bank locations here. If your location allows, onsite community meals are another idea, which could be prepared with resident help or assistance from a non-profit willing to visit your location. For families with small children, childcare assistance is available in many regions. Become familiar with local resources and regulations in order to best assist residents. Consider a weekly or monthly activity for children living at the community so that parents can have a short break. Refreshments, games, or a movie afternoon are easy ideas for potential entertainment. Affordable healthcare is challenging to access for many, especially seniors who may have limited transportation options. Talk to local public health clinics and consider holding a quarterly mini-health assessment clinic. This can benefit all age groups. Many nonprofits help with health and wellness and are able to provide access assistance. If not onsite, a pickup/dropoff transportation service may be available, and you can share that information with residents. Car services like Uber and Lyft can get very expensive. For residents who do not have a personal car, consider having a “taxi” service available for them for a moderate fee. This can benefit many who need to pick up prescriptions or do quick errands. For residents who need access to technology,...

National self storage street rates for all unit types continued to decline in December as the demand for housing dropped and seasonal trends took effect, according to the latest Yardi Matrix National Self Storage Report. National street rates for 10×10 non-climate-controlled (NON CC) units decreased 2.3 percent year-over-year in December to $126, a $7 drop from their summer peak. Rates for similar-size climate-controlled (CC) units fared slightly worse, dropping 3.4 percent year-over-year to $142, a $10 drop from the summer high. The decline in street rates in the last half of 2022 was expected due to normal seasonal slowdowns in demand, and overall rates remain healthy compared to historical levels. “Self storage had a strong year and is well-positioned heading into 2023. Street rates have declined, but operators have focused on increasing existing customer rents to achieve strong revenue growth, outweighing the rise in operating costs,” say Matrix experts. According to market research, operators remain confident in the resilient demand created over the past two years and the ability to backfill occupancy in the spring with higher-paying new customers. “A rapid rise in development costs, including the cost of debt, will also likely cause a deceleration in new supply in coming years, another positive for owners,” states the report. Learn more about the state of the self storage market nationwide. Yardi Matrix tracks a total of 4,627 self storage properties nationwide in various stages of development — including 1,789 planned, 812 under construction and 669 prospective properties. Matrix also maintains operational profiles for 29,032 completed self storage facilities across the United States, bringing the total data set to 33,659. 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...

The student housing industry is set up for another solid performance in 2023 after record returns last year, according to the latest National Student Housing Report from Yardi Matrix. “Momentum is strong heading into the new year, even as the effect of higher interest rates takes hold in the economy and has led multifamily rents to decelerate,” say Matrix experts. “Student housing remains largely unaffected, as the industry typically does better during times of economic volatility.” As of December 2022, 48 percent of beds at Yardi 200 universities were already leased for the fall 2023 school year, representing a new record high for this time of year. Rent growth also remained strong, at 4.7 percent annual growth. “With over eight months to go until the start of the next school year, we anticipate 2023 being another record-breaking year for student housing performance,” states the report. One caveat: highly selective universities with name recognition are maintaining their interest among incoming students, while smaller schools are having more difficulty with enrollment. The slowing economy is having an impact on new student housing supply. With interest rates increasing, the development pipeline is contracting. The development pipeline for Yardi 200 universities (including planned, prospective and under-construction properties) decreased by over 3,000 bedrooms from December to January, representing a 2.6 percent contraction. Gain more insight in the new National 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 covers multifamily, student housing, industrial, office and self storage property types. Email [email protected], call (480) 663-1149 or visit yardimatrix.com to learn...

We’re pleased to share a new round of updates in the Yardi EHR Care Stream App, our on-the-go platform for senior care staff. We’re continuously striving to improve our solutions in the Yardi Senior Living Suite, including the accompanying apps, and hope our clients enjoy the latest functionality Care Stream has to offer. See below for a snapshot of what the update entails: About Care Stream As a brief overview, the Yardi EHR Care Stream app allows nurses and other senior care staff to access resident health records, perform order resolutions, execute point-of-care charting and more from a single, mobile platform. Care Stream is accessible on both smartphones and tablets, allowing more staff members to utilize the app depending what devices their community has available. Taking a step back, Yardi EHR is our full-service electronic health record solution for senior living. Learn more about Yardi EHR. New features and enhancements Focusing on what’s new and improved in Care Stream, the app now includes the following functionality: You can now view, add and edit daily log entries and progress notes in the app. In resident view, tap the new daily log or progress notes button below the resident header to add a new entry or to view previous entries The add observation button (for initiating one-step assessments) has been replaced by an observation button located between the new daily log and progress notes buttons You can now view and record vital signs in the app. In resident view, tap the new vitals button below the resident header to record a new vital or view a filterable list of previously recorded vitals Download the app As always, these updates were developed with client feedback in mind, and to help senior care staff succeed. We hope you...

Many of us have changed the way we go about our daily lives since social distancing efforts began in late 2019. Not only have we rolled with the changes, we’ve embraced them, morphed them into something better, and created new ways to work with each other. A major change affecting affordable housing providers and public housing agencies came in a notice from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2020 by which HUD authorized use of electronic signatures in place of “wet” (i.e. ink) signatures to execute documents for many of its housing subsidy programs. Examples of affected programs include: Project-based Section 8 Rental Assistance Demonstration Project-based Rental Assistance (RAD/PBRA) Section 202 Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts (SPRAC) Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC) Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) Section 811 PRAC and Project Rental Assistance (PRA) Rent Supplement Section 236 (including RAP) Section 221(d)(3)/(d)(5) Below-Market Interest Rate (BMIR). Why are e-signatures a game changer for subsidized housing? Eliminating ink signature requirements save time and money for affordable housing providers and public housing agencies. Rather that dealing with paperwork, these organizations can now set up digital workflows that reduce paper usage and storage costs. Those online workflows can save significant staff hours and create more time to serve residents. E-signatures are more convenient for affordable housing and PHA applicants and residents. They can execute documents when they have a free moment, instead of taking time off work or from childcare to visit an office to sign forms. Audits are also faster, easier and safer with the use of e-signatures. Because workflows are paperless, auditors can monitor files without having to come into an office. Instead, they can access affordable housing and PHA files from a remote workstation to...

Yardi’s growth as a top employer is thanks in part to staff members who assist with recruiting around the globe. Meet Ana-Raluca Iliescu, team leader for recruitment in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Meet Ana-Raluca Iliescu Iliescu has been working for Yardi for nine years. She started with the company as a call center agent and transferred to the Human Resources department after two years. Currently, she coordinates the recruitment team and participates in recruitment processes. “My experience at the call center was one of the most valuable that I have ever had and played an important role in preparing me for the recruiter position. I had already acquired most of the skills needed for the job, so transitioning into the new role went smoothly,” shared Iliescu. Her day-to-day work includes close collaboration with the recruitment team and other departments in the Yardi Romania office. She oversees all processes, stays on top of changes, and proposes and applies solutions to improve practices and candidate experiences. “Having been in a recruiter role at Yardi for over six years, I got the chance to work with almost all our teams, thus getting an excellent grasp of the business needs and processes and gaining much diverse experience as a recruiter,” said Iliescu. Growing business The people at Yardi’s worldwide offices are a big part of the effort to create and foster a distinctly welcoming corporate culture. “One of the things I like most about my job is that what our team does helps the people and the business grow. I also enjoy passing on my experience to help others succeed in this field. At the same time, I like the fact that it’s a challenging role, and you never get the chance to get bored – you can learn new...

Multifamily rent growth began to slow in late 2022 as economic pressures, including the impact of inflation, took root. The 2023 Multifamily Outlook from Yardi Matrix expects that rent growth will be closer to its historical average in 2023. Last year, U.S. rents increased by 6.4 percent after peaking near 16 percent in 2021, according to Yardi Matrix. Those were record figures, the highest seen in a century. The 2022 increase is expected to drop by half this year. “All eyes are on interest rates and how quickly inflation recedes. Economic growth will likely wane in the second half as the impact of rapid rate hikes take effect,” states the outlook. “This year we foresee rent growth dropping in half to 3.1 percent as demand lessens and deliveries remain high.” Demand is decreasing due to less renter migration, a dip in new household formation and declining affordability. Meanwhile new units are coming online nationwide. The forecast calls for 440,000 new deliveries in 2023, a stock increase of 2.9 percent. Deliveries will be concentrated in fast-growing markets, including Dallas, Austin, Charlotte, Nashville and Orlando. However, starts are expected to decline due to rising construction costs, a shortage of construction workers and planning/permitting delays. Gain more insights on the industry in the full 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...

Multifamily asking rents recorded historic highs in 2022 but began to move south as the year concluded, recording another $4 drop to a national average $1,715 in December, according to the latest Yardi® Matrix National Multifamily Report. Year-over-year growth declined by 80 basis points to 6.2 percent last month, the lowest level since May 2021. Over the year, national asking rents recorded a 6.2 percent uptick, the second-highest annual growth in 100 years after 2021’s nearly 15 percent increase. But as the economy cooled in the fall and demand decreased, rents fell 0.2 percent in December and 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter. The single-family rental (SFR) market is also seeing slowing. National asking rates increased 4.8 percent year-over-year in December, which was a decrease of 100 basis points from November. SFR rents dropped by $8 to average $2,083 last month. “With a variety of concerns about the economy and affordability, we expect rent growth in 2023 will be closer to typical levels,” states the latest report. In 2023, Yardi Matrix expects asking rents should remain flat or fall slightly through the spring, when growth is normally strongest. Then rents will likely rise moderately, though nowhere near the dramatic levels of the last two years. Learn more in the latest 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...

Readers of a certain age might recall the buildup to Jan. 1, 2000, as an exercise in high drama. The object of concern was the so-called Y2K bug, the fear that hardware and software systems would stop functioning if they interpreted Jan. 1, 2000, as the first day of the year 1900. The issue was a legacy of computer programs from the 1960s, when engineers used a two-digit code for the year, omitting “19” to save data storage space. 2000 was comfortably far away then. But as that year approached, the concern grew among experts that the faulty interpretation of “00” would wreak havoc on everything from national defense systems and energy grid infrastructure to home mortgage calculations and factory operations. Corporations and governments formed task forces, planned and tested for years leading up to 2000. Large businesses in the U.S. spent an estimated $100 billion creating Y2K compliant programs. Boeing conducted a series of test flights with systems simulating a 2000 rollover to safeguard its 10,500 jets in service worldwide. AT&T spent $650 million to bolster its phone system. There was a fair amount of worry, too; IBM attributed its 9% fourth-quarter earnings drop in 1999 to large corporate customers delaying computer purchases. Smooth start to the millennium On Jan. 1, 2000, everything held together with only minor glitches attributed to Y2K. The U.S. Federal Housing Administration listed incorrect dates on a few reports. A Berlin opera company’s system made people born in 1995 appear to be 95 years old, rendering their parents ineligible for government-mandated subsidies. A video store in New York state foisted a $91,250 charge on a customer who, according to their computers, returned a rented movie 100 years late. There were some airline flight delays and a few other snafus...

Meet Lynn Topp of Yardi Canada, who plays a critical role in implementing software and hiring top-tier talent from the Yardi Toronto office. She has watched Yardi grow and thrive in Canada during nearly 18 years at the company. Meet Lynn Topp Topp is the Director of Client Services for Residential in the Toronto office. Even approaching 20 years of service, she is in awe at what she has watched Yardi achieve. “I enjoy the variety and the challenges each day brings. Working at Yardi is never boring, and every day brings something new, even after all my years here,” shared Topp. “Over the years, as the company has grown, it has been amazing to see all the changes and maturity in how it has evolved and improved since I was an account manager. I enjoy seeing others progress in their roles and seeing the results of our implementations, when clients benefit and streamline their businesses, and turning unhappy clients around,” she said. Topp worked for a Yardi client before starting at Yardi. In that role, she used Yardi Voyager to manage 95 properties, and was one of the first clients in Canada to adopt Voyager. “I spent 14 years in the property management industry as a controller before joining Yardi and chose Voyager to support our growth. While it was trying at times, it was also a great experience, eventually leading me to Yardi. Understanding the industry has helped me understand our client’s challenges and allows me to be empathetic and advocate for our clients,” Topp shared. Topp’s day-to-day is involved in some large full-service implementations, which absorbs most of her time serving as project manager. “I am involved with multiple teams and clients, and much of my time is spent dealing with escalated issues and...

To ring in the new year among our senior living team, we’re doing one of our favorite posts — one that features our senior living clients! That is, we’re highlighting clients’ positive stories and celebrations from the 2022 holiday season. We hope these bits of magical, holiday wonder help you start the new year off with a smile. Holiday momentum in senior living At various Maplewood Senior Living communities, the holiday season was filled with creative activities for residents. We’re talking classics like wreath-making and Christmas tree decorating, all the way to an educational class on official White House ornaments. Maplewood also shared one community’s participation in a local holiday toy drive in which residents, families and staff donated to gift to children in need. You can find cheerful photos from each holiday event on Maplewood’s LinkedIn page. Benchmark Senior Living partook in quite a few holiday activities, too. You can see for yourself in this carousel of photos on Benchmark’s social media, which features things like community decorating and residents singing around the piano. Our personal favorite might be this compilation of holiday cookie recipes Benchmark shared, featuring their residents’ top picks. We may have to save these for baking year-round! Residents at a Watercrest Senior Living community enjoyed a holiday feast with loved ones this Christmas season, before heading for horse-drawn carriage rides. Did we mention hot cocoa and freshly-baked cookies were involved? There may not be any horses spotted in their social media collage, but you’ll see another surprise visitor (think red suit, white beard) enjoying the evening with residents. The community even did a second round of this event, pictured on LinkedIn as well. Tapping into the magic of Christmas Eve, check out this video shared by Brightview Senior Living,...

Yardi’s global offices make important contributions to property managers and investors worldwide. Meet Megi Cara, who plays a vital role in that process for clients in the UK and Europe. Meet Megi Cara A Solutions Consultant based out of Yardi’s Waterloo office in London, Cara serves prospects and clients across the UK, as well as in Ireland and the European Union. “I am responsible for giving product demonstrations across our residential and coworking solutions,” Cara said. These are two rapidly growing areas of service for Yardi UK. Cara will celebrate her third anniversary at Yardi in February and can hardly believe how fast time has flown by. “I love to learn, and at Yardi I learn something new on a regular basis and the products I demonstrate are accelerating at such a fast pace. It is really exciting to watch them evolve,” she shared. Cara spends her days at Yardi in a role that features much variety. She prepares for demonstrations, including setting up proof-of-concept scenarios, breaking down complex concepts, and making it easier for her audience to understand. She also sets up and tests new functionality within the residential or coworking product stack to ensure it performs as expected and is ready to go live on demonstration environments. “I also work closely with our sales team to deliver webinars or product snapshots to our existing clients, so they get the most out of the solutions they have,” Cara said. She also enjoys attending conferences that feature emerging trends and technologies in real estate and highlight the needs and challenges of regional real estate professionals. “The most recent event I attended was the Student Accommodation conference which touched on some very relevant topics such as the cost-of-living impact on the consumer,” Cara said. Evolving...

This is the latest of our periodic updates on the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. Department of Energy’s statistical and analytical agency. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates energy information for the benefit of energy policymakers, analysts and consumers. Winter costs on the rise The EIA expects higher wholesale electricity prices this winter in every region of the country, with increases ranging from 33% higher in California to more than 60% in the mid-Atlantic and Central regions. Electricity price could peak more than three times higher in New England than elsewhere in the U.S., due to limited pipeline capacity for liquefied natural gas coupled with stronger global demand for LNG. In one encouraging sign for consumers, the EIA does not “expect retail electricity prices to increase as much wholesale prices this winter,” said Administrator Joe DeCarolis. Batteries on growth curve through ‘25 Developers and power plant owners plan to significantly increase utility-scale battery storage capacity in the U.S., reaching 30 gigawatts by the end of 2025. Batteries store extra energy produced by intermittent resources such as wind and solar. Battery storage capacity in the U.S., negligible prior to 2020, grew to 7.8 GW by October 2022, with 1.4 GW more capacity expected by the end of the year and an additional 20.8 GW through 2025, more than 75% of which will be in California and Texas. Developers have scheduled more than 20 large-scale battery projects to be deployed by 2025. The 409 megawatt Manatee Energy Storage in Florida is currently the U.S.’s largest operating battery storage project. Uptick in commercial building efficiency A recently released U.S. commercial buildings energy consumption survey report shows that the average total amount of energy used per square foot in commercial buildings decreased by 12% from 2012 to...

Curious how the right technology can help you optimize staff efficiency, maximize occupancy and boost revenue? In our new ebook, in partnership with McKnight’s Senior Living, you’ll discover how CRM tools thoughtfully designed for senior living drive success. Read the highlight below then read the ebook for all the insights, including a closer look at RentCafe Senior CRM (our single connected solution).   How to choose the right CRM technology Given the life-changing nature of moving into a senior living community, it’s important for sales counselors to connect with prospective residents in a thoughtful, strategic manner. And in today’s day and age, CRM technology is available to aid that process throughout the prospect to resident journey. The right CRM helps sales staff track and nurture leads, build positive relationships and so much more, but not all solutions are built the same. For providers, a CRM solution needs to be designed for the unique needs of senior living in order to maximize success. That’s a key focus of the ebook, which shares the benefits of senior living CRM tools and offers guidance on selecting the solution for you. “A good CRM should do the work for you and allow you to focus on what’s most important: building relationships,” says ebook interviewee Candace Seidle, senior living team leader at Yardi. Discovering RentCafe Senior CRM In an effort to illustrate how the right CRM solution builds success, the ebook spotlights our single connected solution, RentCafe Senior CRM. This all-in-one platform is part of the Yardi Senior Living Suite for senior living providers. Not only does RentCafe Senior CRM help you nurture leads from first contact to move-in, it’s also configurable, mobile-friendly and fully integrated with key elements of your business. The ebook covers top benefits and reasons...