What’s the best way for a real estate company to flex its innovation muscle? Robust evaluation. That’s the key takeaway straight from two property technology specialists, Cromwell Property Group’s Sean Rowe-Hagans and Yardi’s Bernie Devine. Devine, regional director for Yardi in APAC, caught up with Rowe-Hagans in the latest installment of Yardi Proptech Insights. The series dives deep to get beneath the surface of property technology. Unzipping efficiencies As Head of Enterprise Architecture and Innovation, Rowe-Hagans has been driving Cromwell’s culture of problem solving through technology for more than a decade. Established in 1998, Cromwell has grown from a small Australian property syndicate to a real estate investment trust with 3.4 million square metres across three continents. Cromwell has a razor-sharp focus on operational efficiencies, and technology and data play a big part in unzipping those efficiencies, Rowe-Hagans noted. But Cromwell adopts technology sensibly and strategically – and the secret is to start with business strategy. “You have to identify a gap before you go looking to fill it with technology,” Rowe-Hagans observed. Cromwell doesn’t currently have too many gaps to fill. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t do things better,” Rowe-Hagans added. Technology should be evaluated “almost as if you are a venture capital firm”. Do your due diligence or risk a big “technology debt,” Rowe-Hagans advised. “You don’t want to be driving down that road, especially if your strategy is efficiency.” Cromwell’s short-term strategic focus may be on efficiency, but its long-term lens is pointed on “business resilience” – and that means thinking “not just about how our buildings run but about how our business runs.” Unpacking the business case Building a business case before a big technology implementation is often the easiest step, Devine observed. That is, until two years later, when it’s time to assess the benefits of a technology investment and “no one knows what it has delivered.” Rowe-Hagans, who spent many years in IT project management, agreed. “The bit after the implementation is the tough bit.” That’s when resources and focus fall away. “Without careful management or monitoring, within two years of that implementation the system will be costing you more than you even began to imagine when you were running that evaluation.” Cromwell assesses “not just reactive risk but also future risk,” Rowe-Hagans said. This means more than going with a gut feeling and a lot of time investigating global megatrends and materiality matrices. “We are really interested in that long-term vision – not just plugging a hole for the now.” Technology implementations are also evaluated against the user experience and how it will be maintained throughout its lifecycle. “Smart” organisations appoint “process champions,” Devine said. Others often “neglect” technology after its implementation. “But it’s like a marriage. If you don’t invest in the marriage, it falls apart.” The real estate industry’s challenge is to be both reactive and agile – and that means each player must think big picture. “It’s about the ecosystems we are trying to build in this technology world – and that’s not just about Cromwell. It’s about all of us as an industry.” Building the ecosystem Rowe-Hagans gave a tip of the hat to Yardi for its role helping to build the ecosystems that each sector of the property industry needs to thrive. Yardi’s work capturing the lifecycle of a building – from leads to when a tenant leaves – was case in point, Rowe-Hagans noted. The real estate industry is starting to come together to collaborate and connect around data governance and sharing. “But it’s not there yet,” he added. The challenge ahead, nevertheless, looms large. By 2025, according to Yardi’s most recent whitepaper, the world will be generating an astronomical 175 zettabytes of data. This is “too many zeroes,” said Devine. If each bit was a coin, one zettabyte of coins in a stack would reach to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, 600 times....

What does home mean to you? For many of us in the housing industry, we are consumed with the details of the structure and its operations. We perfect safety codes, smooth workflows, and stellar marketing. But at the end of the day, we specialize in homes, the very backbone of America. The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) recently announced the winner of the What Home Means to Me poster contest. The contest is a brilliant reminder of the necessity of affordable housing and the role it plays in wellbeing of the nation’s youth. Sharing stories for nearly 20 years Founded in 2008, the What Home Means to Mecontest celebrates children’s stories and creativity. The contest is open to children ages 5-18 who are living in affordable housing developments. Participants submit artwork accompanied by messages about their homes and the impact of housing professionals and community development officials. Each housing authority holds the initial round of evaluations, followed by eliminations at the state and regional levels. The winning submissions are then evaluated in Washington, D.C. before a panel of three judges. The judges choose 13 winners to receive a $100 Visa gift card and features in the 2022 What Home Means to Me Calendar. Calendar sales contribute to the jackpot for the next years’ contest winners. The grand prize winner also receives a framed copy of their artwork, an iPad and a trip to the NAHRO Washington Conference where they are publicly recognized. When feasible, they are also able to meet their Congressional representatives. Congrats, Hector! This year’s winner is Hector from Puerto Rico. He writes: “My home means…more than a building. It means everything I do, I feel, I learn and my hobbies.” He continues, “My family is my home. They’re who taught me since I was a baby how to speak, eat, walk, study and my daily routine. They give me support, care and security everyday. They taught me to love and to have other feelings.” Click here to view a record of winning artwork. Creating home with NAHRO Yardi is a proud sponsor of NAHRO. Since 1933, the organization has supported affordable housing, its infrastructure and legislation. The organization is currently composed of 19,500 members that serve more than 3 million homes and 8 million residents. Yardi is Energized for Good! Click here to read more of our heartwarming stories of community involvement....

On the road to filling vacancies, property managers must carefully evaluate prospective residents. From examining criminal history to verifying income, the screening process is a critical step. This holds true for senior living providers working to identify new residents for their communities. And while resident screening may sound simple, checking for various requirements — for each individual prospect — is a challenge. That’s why providers need an automated system for resident screening. Fortunately for Yardi clients using RentCafe Senior CRM, that exact system is now available. Meet ScreeningWorks Pro, Yardi’s tenant background check solution. Why use resident screening? By using ScreeningWorks Pro to screen prospective residents, providers access key information in real time. And with a proven solution like ScreeningWorks Pro, results are comprehensive and customized to meet your criteria. Best of all, everything is compiled in one centralized system. That’s because ScreeningWorks Pro is integrated with the Voyager leasing workflow in RentCafe Senior CRM. This means the interface can communicate back and forth with ScreeningWorks Pro to: Submit applicant information for screeningSubmit changes to existing screeningsCommunicate application results back into the system’s screening page Benefits of ScreeningWorks Pro What else sets ScreeningWorks Pro apart? Tailored to the needs of senior living providers, this built-in solution helps you: Obtain applicant credit histories that can be evaluated using Vantage 3.0 or your specific credit criteriaConduct comprehensive criminal record checksExamine civil court records for landlord-tenant disputes including filings, judgements and forcible detainersEnable automatic income verificationReview apartment rental payment history from Experian RentBureauCheck for possible matches to the Specifically Designated National (SDN) list from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)Customize your screening processes to ensure you comply with Fair Housing laws, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other laws governing housing providers In short, ScreeningWorks Pro offers consistent guidance, analytics and insights to help providers identify low-risk residents — and maintain thriving communities. About RentCafe Senior CRM RentCafe Senior CRM provides mobile-friendly sales and marketing tools for the unique needs of senior living providers. As part of the Yardi Senior Living Suite, this single connected solution unlocks the ability to drive quality leads, increase resident retention, produce sales projections, boost staff performance and more. Learn how ScreeningWorks Pro simplifies resident screening in senior living. To connect with our team for more details, reach out...

Yardi client Hudson Valley Property Group (HVPG) has acquired Lincoln Park Towers in Newark, NJ. The New York-based firm recently began a major revitalization effort at the site. The project is a step forward for The City of Newark in addressing a growing call for affordable housing in the area. Lincoln Park Towers revitalization Lincoln Park Towers contains 80 units spread across 17 stories. The senior affordable property was originally constructed in 1927 and is honored as a part of the Lincoln Park Historic District. Image Courtesy of HudsonValleyPropertyGroup.com HVPG is beginning unit-level renovations as well as overall sustainability and safety upgrades: the firm will add new cabinets and countertops, eco-friendly fixtures, update smoke detectors and install emergency pull cords in all units. New amenities such as entertainment and fitness spaces, a community room with a kitchen, designated on-site parking, and laundry facilities are on the docket. The structure will also receive a makeover from top to bottom including a new roof, façade facelift and repairs to the windows and elevators. In a nod to the modern age of senior housing, HVPG is including building-wide Wi-Fi au gratis for residents. It is estimated to save residents between $40-$70 per month. The site will be updated to facilitate high speed internet for those that purchase it. The firm will complete the project without displacing residents. The undertaking has a projected cost of $15.2 million.  Once complete, the housing will remain affordable thanks to a 20-year Housing Assistance Payment contract issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Terms include a Section 8 agreement with units leased to residents earning no greater than 30% – 50% of the area median income. Fulfilling the mission to preserve and revitalize Lincoln Park Towers marks the final investment for HVPG’s first private equity real estate fund. The endeavor included $60 million of capital commitments and $120 million of co-investment equity. As a result, HVPG has been able to invest more than $1 billion in projects, honoring its mission to preserve the financial and physical stability of affordable housing. In total, 25 properties including more than 4,000 units will receive the updates needed to be viable housing. “HVPG has developed a consistent process for revitalizing existing housing to preserve affordability, improve quality, and increase efficiencies,” said Jason Bordainick, CEO and co-founder of HVPG during an interview with Affordable Housing Finance. “Leveraging private equity allows us to significantly expand our reach, earning a reliable return for investors while serving more residents and communities.” Fulfilling the call for affordable housing in Newark, NJ The revitalization of Lincoln Park Towers is representative of an approximately $14.7M investment into the City of Newark’s affordable housing supply. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on recently promised to create or preserve 6,600 affordable units in Newark by 2026. Though the quantity falls short of the 16,000-unit shortage cited by researchers at Rutgers University, Baraka and his team are celebrating the step forward in the right direction. Baraka explains, “We have to keep building and doing what we can with the resources that we have and prayerfully we get some support from state resources and federal resources to continue to do this.” Read the latest updates in affordable housing on our News...

As colleges get back to in-person learning this fall, Yardi Matrix reports that the student housing sector is on the rebound. On Wednesday, the Matrix team, led by Matrix vice president Jeff Alder, presented a webinar on the outlooks and tactics for investors as the student housing realm moves past the pandemic. (View the event recording here.) “There was a surge in leasing in July and August,” reported Adler. “Rent growth also moved up. The bulk of properties did extremely well. Overall, the sector has validated its business case.” As colleges and universities announced that they would resume fully in-person classes in the mid to late summer, student housing activity responded in turn. According to Matrix data, this August preleasing for Yardi 200 universities surpassed pre-pandemic levels at 91.1% preleased, while rent growth also had a significant jump at 3.4% year-over-year. One and two bedrooms led the way for rent increases, and studios, while favored at the height of the pandemic, were not as coveted. Three and four-bedroom suites began to rebound near the end of August. U.S. colleges are projected to see an enrollment spike in 2021-2022, following an academic year in which some students opted out of attending due to pandemic restrictions, finances and other factors. Thousands of universities did not require SAT or ACT scores this year, driving a surge in applications and subsequently, higher enrollment. “The bottom line is the schools are open. There may be bumps and problems (with COVID) along the way in terms of the student base. But the schools are opening, housing is happening and beds are getting filled,” Adler summarized. And that’s all good news for student housing. “Overall, we have a very positive outlook for the student housing industry, particularly at first tier institutions,” state Matrix analysts. Much of the presentation focused on the tactical components for investing in student housing, which will be a focus for Matrix moving forward. Adler introduced the sector’s forecast reports for supply and enrollment (both currently available) and rent and occupancy (coming soon). According to a poll of attendees on the webinar, 52 percent of respondents stated they are interested in investing in the sector through acquisitions and 48 percent stated they would invest through developing properties. View the webinar presentation to see all slides and data analysis. Trendlines that Yardi Matrix will continue to monitor into 2022 include: Consolidation of the higher education systemValue proposition of higher education and value of certain majors from specific universitiesDistance learning and the hybrid education modelDemographic trends impacting enrollment Consolidation is expected to be a significant ongoing factor for the industry and reflects the fact that there are fewer Gen Z college attendees than there were in the Millennial generation, Adler explained. States across the country are examining ways to streamline higher education offerings and save overhead costs. “We do expect that enrollment growth will face headwinds. Gen Z is a smaller cohort (of students) than the Millennials were, hence the consolidation expectation,” Adler said. Investors interested in the student housing sector may want to focus their efforts on major schools that are likely to withstand or even benefit from consolidation efforts in the industry, he noted. Learn more about student housing and other markets covered by Yardi...

Imagine it: your property, November 1st, 2021. Your team is scheduled to turn six units when you get a numbing report. Your trusted suppliers are out of stock on carpet and semi-gloss paint for trim. You scramble to find a new supplier, but the cost is 14% higher and expedited shipping costs are extreme. It’s not an unlikely scenario, and you can potentially avoid it. More than 80% of the world’s goods are transported by sea. The latest records indicate that sea freight charges have increased by 547% over their seasonal average. The result on land will be more out-of-stock items and higher costs on everyday goods for your property. Property managers would be wise to plan ahead on items that they need most. International cargo shipping rates and times increase The average price of a 40-foot shipping container has quadrupled from this time last year and there was a surge of more than 53% in July, reports the Wall Street Journal. Congested ports are one of the leading problems. In the first five months of 2021, Sea-Intelligence ApS of Denmark reported record-breaking delays. Nearly 700 ships were more than a week late to their destinations along the West Coast. For comparison, there were 1,535 late arrivals throughout all of 2012-2020. This summer, a daily average of 30 containers wait in queue outside of the Ports of Los Angeles. Other factors include a shortage in containers, skeleton crews at docks, labor shortages at manufacturers and rising demand as retailers reopen in the West. When might delays plateau? Analysts foresee serious delays at least until after the Lunar New Year of 2022, mid-February at the earliest. Most Chinese factories shut down for the holiday, halting production and shipping. This may afford a few days where in-progress shipments continue while manufacturing pauses (temporarily easing the influx of ships to ports). But once workers return, they’ll have to play catch up. The delays will continue, at least for a while. How do shipping delays impact property owners? Brian Bourke, chief growth officer at Seko Logistics based in Itasca, Ill. recommends placing large trans-Pacific orders at least two months in advance of normally anticipated dates. “Global trade right now is the hottest restaurant in town,” he said. “If you want to get a reservation, you need to plan it out two months in advance.” As a result, property managers can expect shipping delays and higher prices on imported goods. Though the shipping backlog has been growing for months, price increases were nominal and less frequent. Companies lock in contractual rates with container lines. Yet as their annual contracts end, new contracted rates will reflect higher shipping costs which will, in turn, be passed to consumers. HSBC Holdings Plc estimates that a 205% increase in freight costs translates to about a 2% price increase for European producers. (The cost increase is currently closer to 550%.) Canadian businesses are passing price increases as high as 20% on to consumers for bulky items like appliances. Estimates on U.S. consumer price increases vary, but the consensus is that prices will rise.   Some goods simply won’t be available, large and small items alike. From the coffee stocked in the leasing office to furniture for furnished units, “temporarily out-of-stock” will become common on supplier websites. In these cases, freight costs can compose more than 60% of product cost, become cost prohibitive for suppliers. Property manager game plan A few tips can help property managers navigate the turbulent waters ahead. Plan ahead. Use reporting tools in your maintenance operations software to understand your fall and winter trends for supplies. Transparency into maintenance operations facilitates better foresight and planning. Review what you’ve spent on supplies in previous falls and winters. This may give you a baseline of what to expect. Take a moment to research available data on price increases and shipping delays in your market. That information will allow...

Get Living creates exceptional communities and neighbourhoods across the United Kingdom. Places where people can live their best lives, homes they feel they belong in, and communities they can connect in with people. The team at Get Living understand the important role technology plays in connecting residents to their communities and that delivering exceptional resident experience goes hand in hand with adopting efficient technology. We caught up with Chris Armstrong, Chief Experience Officer and Steven Osei Head of Brand Experience of Get Living to ask them how they use Yardi’s technology to improve resident experiences and business processes. “We’ve been working with the team at Yardi since 2016/2017, using a wide variety of the solutions they provide, across the entirety of our estate. We invested heavily into Yardi’s solutions to help us grow as a business and to really deliver consistency of experience,” commented Chris Armstrong. Osei expressed that since utilising Yardi’s technology, the team at Get Living have been able to reduce the steps in the applicant journey by 300%. He also explained the importance of adopting technology to achieve Get Living’s growth goals, “As a growing and scaling business with the aspirations of having 12 to 15,000 homes it’s imperative that we have the tools in place that enable us to display real time availability of homes that we have available”. Armstrong also commented that over 4,500 of their residents are registered on the RentCafe Resident App which has given their residents the platform to interact with them on a 24/7 basis, “It’s always there for them, it’s always on.” Armstrong explained that they monitor resident satisfaction by surveying residents using the resident app; freeing up their teams to focus on hands-on customer service. “The best technology is the technology that you don’t know is there, it fades into the background. That’s why we work really hard with Yardi as a partner to make that technology seamless and easy for our teams and our customers to use.” As well as explaining how Yardi’s technology currently benefits their staff and residents, Armstrong also detailed future adoption plans which will see improvements in procurement process and allow for more flexible leasing with Yardi’s technology. Watch the...

Every single person in Lendlease’s 11,000-strong team has their sights set on net zero emissions by 2025. It’s a huge undertaking – one which will be impossible without the help of technology and data. This puts Richard Kuppusamy and Helen Lam – two of Lendlease’s digital leaders – in the driver’s seat as they help steer their company towards Mission Zero. Bernie Devine, regional manager for Yardi in Asia Pacific, recently caught up with the pair as part of the latest installment of Yardi’s Proptech Insights series. A big pivot Lendlease must meet its first net zero target in four years – an aggressive but “very deliberate” decision, Kuppusamy told Yardi’s audience. “Everyone who is in Lendlease today has to deal with this problem,” he emphasized. And it’s a big problem for everyone in the real estate sector, given the global built environment is responsible for almost 40% of the world’s emissions. But Lendlease – which designs, constructs and manages buildings on four continents – is in a rare position of influence across the entire development lifecycle. It is for this reason that Lendlease’s technology strategy is watched by the entire industry with interest. Kuppusamy joined Lendlease in March as Head of Lendlease Digital Asia and is based in Singapore. He oversees leadership, management and performance of Lendlease’s digital business unit across the region – and that includes Lendlease’s new property lifecycle platform, Podium. Podium links everything from building plans and construction programs to the results and realities of operation. It is the foundation of autonomous buildings, he noted. Podium supports data-driven decision-making “at every touch point” of the property lifecycle and is the key to economic and environmental sustainability. With Podium, Lendlease is “pivoting” towards a future as a “software engineering firm,” Devine observed. And that means data is now one of Lendlease’s greatest assets. Data rich, insight poor Globally, the real estate sector remains “data rich and insight poor,” Richard observed. “There are a lot of solutions, but they are all very siloed.” How do we dismantle these silos and unlock the “proprietary data jails,” as Kuppusamy called them, for a greater common good? “It’s not just about sharing – but about sharing in a meaningful way.” The industry must move away from technology that solves “spot solutions” or “siloed problems,” Helen added. “In real estate there are no silo problems – they are all interrelated.” While many systems capture data, only “actionable insights” deliver value, Kuppusamy said. Devine agreed. “I always say to our clients: ‘We deliver actionable insights, but it’s up to you to take action.’” As Head of Innovation and Development Practices in Asia, Helen Lam is responsible for identifying new ideas to be researched, tested and integrated into the way Lendlease works. One of the projects currently underway is to eliminate diesel – which is “really dirty, noisy and hazardous” – from construction sites. “We don’t have the inhouse tech to solve it all ourselves,” so Lendlease is partnering with an Asian start-up with an advanced compact and connected lithium-ion battery system. The technology eliminates 80% of onsite emissions, “is much quieter and emits zero fumes,” she explained. Data can also aid “macro decisions” that deliver a better experience for people, alongside those that are best for the planet, Lam added. Lendlease has installed Internet of Things technology in restroom facilities in retail malls across Asia, for instance, to better understand peak loads. From this data, Lendlease has enhanced the customer experience, while also “making better procurement decision around our contract negotiations and reducing operational expenditure.” Self-driving buildings Devine pointed to the use of digital twins as another tool that can help the real estate sector move towards net zero. In May, Ernst and Young reported that digital twins could save up to 35 percent on project and building costs and reduce city-level carbon emissions by between 50 and 100 percent. Lendlease has...