Residential real estate
Delivering expert insights on resident engagement strategies, resident perks, and the how-tos on how to help residents save.
Guides for residential real estate leaders
Residential real estate refers to properties that are used for living purposes, as opposed to commercial or industrial real estate which is used for business and industrial activities. Our content includes how-tos, guides, industry trends, and news about resident perks, rewards, and engagement.
Latest
How Google review generation can be tied to resident rewards
Google review generation can become more effective when connected to a thoughtful resident rewards strategy. This guide explains how residential real estate operators can use resident review rewards to encourage authentic feedback without tying incentives to positive ratings. It covers timing, reward design, resident engagement, measurement, automation, common mistakes, and practical implementation steps for building a stronger feedback loop between residents, property teams, and online reputation.
Using rewards to boost NPS scores in multifamily communities
Resident NPS improvement requires more than collecting survey responses. This guide explains how multifamily operators can use rewards to encourage resident feedback while keeping NPS responses authentic. It covers survey timing, reward design, segmentation, detractor feedback, resident retention, measurement, automation, and practical implementation. The goal is to help property teams build a continuous feedback loop where residents are encouraged to participate, operators act on what they learn, and better experiences create stronger long-term resident relationships.
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Perks vs amenities: what's the real difference for multifamily operators?
Property managers often use "perks" and "amenities" interchangeably, but the two serve very different purposes in a resident experience strategy. This article breaks down what separates a built-in amenity from a curated resident perk, why the distinction affects budgeting and marketing, and how multifamily operators can combine both to strengthen retention. It includes a resident journey framework showing where perks add the most value alongside a property's existing amenity package.
Senior living communities and the case for resident perks
Senior living operators are discovering that resident satisfaction depends on more than clean hallways and attentive staff. This post examines how senior living resident rewards give property managers a practical way to build loyalty, ease the transition into community living, and encourage the referrals that keep occupancy strong. Property managers will find guidance on structuring a rewards program suited to an older resident base, along with the measurable business case for making perks part of daily community life.
Student housing loyalty programs: Driving renewals before graduation
Student housing operators face a unique renewal challenge: residents graduate, transfer, or move on every year, often before property teams can build lasting loyalty. This post explores how student housing rewards programs help operators reach residents earlier in the lease cycle, reward the actions that matter most, and make renewal the easy choice. Property managers will find practical guidance on structuring perks, measuring return on investment, and turning short lease cycles into long-term retention wins.
How Co-Living Operators Can Use Rewards To Boost Community Retention
Modern residents expect more than just a place to live. They seek experiences, connections, and value-added services that justify their housing investment. Rewards programs address these expectations while providing operators with measurable tools to influence resident behavior and satisfaction.
Perks Programs For Build-To-Rent Communities: What'S Different
Traditional apartment perks programs often emphasize convenience and cost reduction. Build-to-rent programs need to emphasize lifestyle enhancement, community connection, and premium service experiences. This shift requires different partnership strategies, benefit structures, and communication approaches.
AppFolio and resident rewards: closing the engagement gap
Property managers running communities on AppFolio often assume the platform handles resident engagement on its own. In practice, AppFolio is built for operations, not motivation. This article breaks down where AppFolio resident engagement naturally falls short, what a dedicated rewards layer adds, and how property managers can use move-in perks, autopay incentives, and local discounts to close the gap, without replacing the software they already rely on every day.
Integrating perks into Entrata: A guide for multifamily operators
Multifamily operators looking to strengthen resident retention are turning to Entrata perks integration to connect rewards directly with everyday leasing and payment events. This guide explains how the integration works behind the scenes, what data is shared between systems, and why automated, portal-based perks outperform manual engagement efforts. It also covers implementation steps, expected ROI, and what property managers should evaluate when choosing an Entrata-compatible perks partner for their portfolio.
Types of residential real estate categories include:
- Single-family homes: Stand-alone houses meant for one family or group of people.
- Apartments: Housing units in a larger building, typically owned by a single entity and rented out to individuals or families.
- Condominiums: Similar to apartments, but the units are owned individually rather than rented from a single landlord.
- Townhouses: Multi-floor homes that share one or two walls with adjacent properties but have their own entrances.
- Duplexes, Triplexes, and Quadruplexes: Buildings divided into two, three, or four units, respectively, with each unit typically having its own entrance.
- Multifamily homes: Larger buildings that house multiple families, often more than four.
- Vacation homes: Properties used for leisure and vacation purposes.
The main focus in residential real estate is providing living spaces, whether through ownership or rental. It's a significant sector in the real estate market and has a direct impact on the economy and consumers due to its essential role in providing housing.
According to the National Association of Homebuilders using US Bureau of Economic Analysis data, RRE's combined contribution to the economy usually makes up 15-18% of US GDP annually, and occurs in two basic ways:
- Residential investment (around 3-5% of GDP), means construction of new single-family and multifamily buildings, residential remodeling, manufactured home fabrication, and real estate brokers’ fees.
- Consumption spending on housing services (around 12-13% of GDP), includes gross rents and utilities paid by renters, as well as owners’ imputed rents and utility payments.
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