Smaller landlords turn to software for pricing multi-family units

While large landlords have long been savvy to analytics software for revenue optimization, smaller landlords are increasingly using software such as Rainmaker LRO to price units at multi-family properties, the New York Times reports.

Using algorithms similar to those used by websites pricing hotels and airfare, the software provides landlords with the highest possible price they can charge for a specific space at a certain time. And these days, smaller players are getting in on the game.

Steve Lefkovits, CEO of Emeryville, Calif.-based Joshua Tree Internet Media, a company which provides information to the multi-family industry, hosts an annual conference for apartment revenue management.

“The thing that was most interesting to me about this year’s conference,” Lefkovits told the Times, “was the number of smaller owner-operators, with 3,000 to 10,000 units, that have invested the time and energy into adopting a revenue-management strategy.”

Equity Residential, which owns 8,290 units in the New York metro area, 4,057 of which are in New York City, reports revenue increases of between 3 and 5 percent when using Rainmaker.

Now smaller landlords enjoy similar gains. Bryan Pierce, the revenue manager at Holland Residential in Vancouver, Wash. uses Rainmaker LRO at 63 of the 70 properties Holland controls.

“Maybe this person is paying 15 percent below market, and as much as we love them, maybe it’s time to let them move on and capture that 15 percent.” [NYT]