Two things come to mind when we talk about emerging trends in California property management.
The first is technology. It’s impossible to avoid talking about tech tools such as Artificial Intelligence, smart home technology, and the sheer volume of data that we’re able to collect as property managers in order to better lease, manage, and maintain your property. We cannot avoid it; property management technology is growing and evolving, and when you’re working with a company that’s willing to invest in it, you’re likely to have a better rental experience.
The second thing is customer experience. It doesn’t matter how great your technology is if it’s not being used to improve the rental experience for your residents. There’s no way to have a profitable investment property without keeping your home occupied. And, you cannot keep your rental home occupied if tenants don’t want to live there.
We can talk about emerging market trends such as rental values, the impact of remote work on the real estate landscaping in California, and the way that tenant-friendly legislation has required us to update our systems and our processes.
What’s more interesting and more relevant to our industry, however, are the two things we mentioned: emerging technology and tenant experiences.
As
property managers in Santa Cruz and surrounding California communities, we have been talking about technology for the last decade. We are able to automate a lot of the tasks that were the biggest time consumers, and that has led to better leasing and management. It’s made responding to maintenance and repairs more intuitive.
Even a few years ago, no one was providing self-showing keypads to speed up the marketing process, and software systems that integrated and tracked everything associated with accounting and leases and maintenance invoices and rent collection were only beginning to feel normal.
Technology is helping us do better, and the emerging trend is towards better data analytics and insights, the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) for a lot of easily delegated tasks, and more automation to protect the time and talents of professional property managers.
Some people hear the term “A.I.” and immediately form an opinion. When it comes to property management, A.I. has improved systems and saved time. This is still a developing technology, but over the next few years, we expect it to emerge as something even more useful.
A.I. can respond to general questions online, for example. You don’t need a live team member answering the questions in your website’s chat function.
The artificial intelligence we use as property managers can quickly process large amounts of data, and it can do so with precision. This helps us when it comes to pricing your property more accurately and competitively, marketing your rental home across multiple platforms, and gathering data on maintenance needs.
Costs can also be reduced with A.I. This adds to more satisfaction among our owners. Rent collection, tenant screening, and other easy tasks will leave our property managers more time to fulfill their goals of enhanced customer service and planning for the future of your investment.
Technology is also becoming something that tenants look for when they’re choosing a rental home. Most people rely heavily today on their digital assistants. They’ll ask Siri or Alexa for directions or instruct them to place an online grocery order. People can ask Google to look something up with a voice command; not even touching or tapping their phones.
Smart home technology is more important than ever. Tenants want the ease and convenience of integrated home systems, appliances, and security features.
Rental homes will adopt more smart home technology over the next decade. Some of the most popular smart home tech for rental homes right now include:
Tenants can set timers for their lights, appliances, and thermostats. They can enjoy tech-driven vacuum cleaners and coffee makers. Attracting high-quality residents in the future will require at least a minimal investment in smart home technology.
These technologies offer a variety of advantages, from efficiency to cost-savings to increased tenant retention and higher rental values. As tenants and owners get more comfortable with the existing technologies that are already implemented and effective, the future is likely to include additional cutting-edge technology around smart home features that will easily increase tenant satisfaction and ease some of the frustrations in
professional property management and rental property ownership.
Treating tenants better has been a goal for good property managers for several years. We’ve been working on ways to provide better experiences for our residents because we want them to love living in their homes. We want them to renew their lease agreements.
If you’re not already doing so, it’s time to invest in better tenant relationships, more transparent communication, and an understanding of what we can do to really help our owners and our residents.
Good tenant experiences will lead to better retention rates and lower turnover costs. You can expect more on-time rental payments when tenants are happy. There will be less conflict and fewer disputes to manage. Providing exceptional tenant experiences leads to better business for you as the owner and for us as the property managers.
We’re using technology to create better tenant experiences. We’re finding ways to provide target, strategic advertising and marketing so your property gets noticed by the best tenants. We’re investing in
screening tools that makes the process more consistent and objective. We’re providing more ways for tenants to reach us.
Customer service is always evolving, and we’re staying ahead of the emerging trends. We’re also
listening to our residents and what they need. You can expect that one of the biggest trends in property management will be integrating the needs of owners and tenants and creating a positive experience for everyone.
Let’s talk more about what to expect and how to prepare for the property management trends of the future. Please
contact us at Western Property Management, Inc. We lease, manage, and maintain investment properties throughout Santa Cruz County, including Aptos, Capitola, Soquel, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, and Scotts Valley.
California DRE License #02148376
300 State Park Dr. Ste. 1
Aptos, CA 95003
Phone: 831-688-0238
Fax: 831-662-8830
Office Hours
Telephone Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm. In person office hours: By appointment only.
