Redefining the Role: The GenAI-Powered Property Manager

Imagine a future where property managers effortlessly conduct virtual tours, generate customized leases, and respond to a variety of resident inquiries – all with the assistance of artificial intelligence. That future is no longer akin to a scene from a futuristic movie; it's the near-team reality for many property managers. A recent study of property management professionals by AppFolio found that nearly half either currently use AI or plan to adopt AI in their operations, marking a distinct shift in how the industry will soon operate.

Generative AI (GenAI) is poised to revolutionize the multifamily landscape. A Deloitte study found corporate investments were $3.5B+ through October 2023, outpacing the total from 2018 to 2020 by nearly 50% since the emergence of GenAI in 2021. It's clear that the role of property managers is set to undergo a significant transformation. This evolution demands new skills, expanded responsibilities, and a reimagining of what it means to be a successful property manager in the age of GenAI.

In this blog, we’ll explore:

• What is GenAI?
• Applications of GenAI in Property Management
• Key Characteristics of the GenAI-Powered Property Manager
• Benefits of GenAI-Powered Property Management
• How to Balance GenAI & the Human Touch
• Unlocking the Future of Property Management with Lea Pro

Understanding GenAI – What Is It?

Before diving into the specifics of how GenAI is reshaping property management, it's essential to understand what this technology is and how it works.

GenAI refers to artificial intelligence systems capable of creating new content, including text, images, and even code. These systems are trained on vast amounts of data and use complex algorithms to generate human-like outputs. In the context of property management, GenAI can do things like produce written content (resident communications), create visual assets (virtual staging), and even engage in conversational interactions (lead engagement).

Applications of GenAI in Property Management

Let’s take a deeper look at how the applications of GenAI in property management are diverse and growing rapidly – below are some of the ways it is transforming operations.

1. Resident Communication

According to the AppFolio study mentioned earlier, resident communication is the top use case (44%) for GenAI in property management currently. GenAI-powered communication systems can handle routine inquiries about lease terms, amenities, rent and maintenance with ease. GenAI sends automated yet personalized follow-ups on maintenance tickets and provides instant responses to emergency issues. This allows property managers to scale their resident support while giving them time back for more nuanced or technical tasks.

2. Prospective Resident Screening & Lead Engagement

Automated lead qualification and engagement tools, like Apartment List's Lea Pro, are revolutionizing prospective resident communications. These GenAI-powered systems can instantly engage with inquiries 24/7, answering common questions about unit availability, pricing, amenities, and property policies. The technology maintains consistent communication with leads through their preferred channels, whether by text, email, or chat, ensuring no prospective resident falls through the cracks.

3. Virtual Tours & Staging

Virtual tours create immersive 3D walkthrough experiences that prospects can take at any time. These tours feature interactive hotspots highlighting key features like new appliances or recent upgrades. They can even include multilingual narration to reach a more diverse pool of residents. Beyond convenience, these tours save valuable staff time by letting prospects pre-screen properties before scheduling in-person visits. GenAI transforms property visualization by showing how empty units could look when furnished. It can create multiple design schemes for different resident preferences and helps visualize renovation outcomes before any money is spent. Residents can even use these tools to plan their furniture layouts before moving in.

4. Predictive Maintenance

Through advanced analysis of historical maintenance data, real-time equipment sensors, and weather data, GenAI can forecast when major systems like HVAC might need replacement or repair. It even schedules preventive maintenance based on usage patterns. This helps estimate maintenance costs for annual budgeting and significantly reduces the need for emergency repairs by catching issues early.

Maintenance is a major component of property management, and prior to these advancements in AI, was done in a mostly reactive manner. Leveraging GenAI for predictive maintenance aids in prolonging equipment’s usage and allows property managers to anticipate potential issues before they happen.

4. Market Analysis & Rent Optimization

GenAI can track historical rent data, local rent prices, real estate market trends, neighborhood demographics, local amenities, and real-time economic events. It identifies seasonal rental patterns in your area and suggests optimal pricing based on unit features and market conditions. The technology also monitors local development projects that might impact property values, helping you stay ahead of market changes. For example, if the data shows a higher vacancy rate during certain months of the year, the technology might recommend decreasing rent during those periods to be more attractive to prospective residents.

5. Lease Generation

GenAI can even streamline the lease creation process, generating first drafts of contracts in minutes rather than hours. The technology can incorporate property-specific terms and local legal requirements, while making it simple to update multiple leases simultaneously when policies change. It also helps prevent compliance issues by flagging potential problems before they arise. Property managers can start small when it comes to adopting GenAI. Consider beginning with one of the above applications and gradually expanding usage as comfort levels and expertise grow. The goal isn't to replace human property managers altogether but to give them tools to serve residents more effectively. Remember, while these technologies are powerful, they work best with human oversight and expertise.

Key Characteristics of the GenAI-Powered Property Manager

The integration of GenAI into property management requires new skills and characteristics of property managers and other multifamily professionals. Several have emerged as integral for success – let’s take a look at them below.

• Adaptability: First, property managers must commit to continuous learning; success depends on being willing to reshape processes. A growth mindset will prove essential for long-term success, particularly as the industry shifts toward more centralized operational models. As usage ramps up, adaptability involves things like customizing AI to grasp your company’s specific voice and tone.
• Technical Proficiency: Managers need to confidently operate GenAI platforms and troubleshoot common issues. A key part of the role also involves training team members on integrated systems, including property management platforms, access control, and resident apps.
• Change Management: It’s integral to be a steward for change. For example, when integrating conversational AI – you’ll need a plan in place to educate your human team members on how to seamlessly continue conversations that begin with GenAI. This also involves ensuring the AI tools you onboard are able to integrate with your CRM, PMS, etc.
• Data Literacy: Property managers must understand basic statistics, data visualizations, and machine learning fundamentals. This knowledge enables them to use data effectively for property operations and investment decisions.
• Ethical Decision-Making: Property managers are responsible for identifying AI bias in screening and pricing decisions, while ensuring resident privacy is protected. They must recognize when human judgment should override AI and stay current with AI ethics guidelines.

These characteristics represent an evolution in the expectations of property management professionals. While traditional property management skills remain important, success now requires a more expanded skill set.

Benefits of GenAI-Powered Property Management

While adapting to the GenAI-driven multifamily landscape may seem challenging, the benefits for property managers are substantial.

Increased Efficiency

GenAI can automate many time-consuming tasks, allowing property managers to focus on higher-value activities. For example:

• Automated lease generation can save hours of administrative work.
• AI-powered maintenance scheduling can optimize resource allocation.
• Virtual assistants can handle routine inquiries, freeing up staff time.

Here at Apartment List, we’ve found that our GenAI leasing assistant Lea Pro can save 42 hours per property per week.

Enhanced Customer Service

GenAI enables property managers to provide personalized, round-the-clock service to residents:

• Conversational GenAI can answer questions and address concerns 24/7. We’ve discovered Lea Pro enables 53% more after-hours conversations.
• Personalized communication based on resident preferences and history.
• Faster response times to maintenance requests and other issues.

Improved customer service can lead to higher resident satisfaction and retention rates.

Cost Savings

By streamlining operations and reducing manual labor, GenAI can significantly cut costs:

• Reduced need for after-hours staffing due to AI-powered support.
• Decreased maintenance expenses through predictive maintenance.
• AI-driven insights can identify inefficiencies and optimize resource allocation, leading to reduced operational costs.

A Deloitte study found GenAI is proven to cut business process costs by anywhere from 25% to 40% on average.

Competitive Advantage

Early adopters of GenAI in property management are positioning themselves as industry leaders:

• Offering cutting-edge services that appeal to tech-savvy residents.
• Making data-driven decisions that lead to better performance.
• Attracting top talent interested in working at a company using innovative technologies.

At the end of the day, GenAI provides a significant competitive advantage by unlocking new organizational capacities that allow humans to take on more complex tasks. Think of an employee manually approving purchase orders that can instead shift focus to negotiating better vendor pricing if the approvals are automated.

There are endless opportunities like the one above to occur not only within the organization as a whole, but also a property manager’s role specifically. It’s imperative to find opportunities for GenAI to make humans more productive – not replace them altogether.

How to Balance GenAI & the Human Touch

While GenAI can dramatically improve efficiency and accuracy, the most successful property management strategies will blend technological capabilities with human insight and empathy.

Consider the following examples in which its essential to maintain or integrate the “human element” for GenAI-powered property management:

1. Maintaining Local Presence: If centralizing operations, ensure there's still a local team at the property level to address specific community needs and provide a personal touch.
2. Intelligent Customization: Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach by allowing for customization to meet the unique needs of different properties and resident demographics.
3. Human Oversight: While GenAI excels at handling routine tasks, human judgment remains irreplaceable in more complex scenarios involving property management and beyond.
4. Flexible Communication Options: Residents have diverse communication preferences. While some might prefer GenAI-powered conversations and instant messaging, others may still value face-to-face interactions or phone calls.
5. Prioritize Emotional Intelligence & Empathy: GenAI can process data, but it cannot truly empathize. The human touch will be critical for understanding residents’ emotional needs, especially during challenging life transitions like job loss, family changes, or personal hardships. Prioritize tools with emotional intelligence when selecting a partner.
6. Emergency & High-Stakes Situations: During critical moments like natural disasters, urgent maintenance issues, or complex legal disputes – human judgment and compassion paired with quick decision-making are irreplaceable.

Unlock the Future of Property Management: Lea Pro Bolsters Leasing with GenAI

The rise of GenAI is ushering in a new era for property management. As we've explored, this technology brings both opportunities and a need for an expanded skill set. Property managers who embrace this change will be well-positioned to thrive in the evolving landscape.

The GenAI-powered property manager of today and tomorrow is not just a caretaker of buildings, but a strategic thinker, a data-driven decision-maker, and an ethical technology user. By harnessing the power of GenAI while maintaining a human-centric approach, these professionals can transform their roles.

Apartment List's Lea Pro is your GenAI sales consultant that proactively qualifies and nurtures leads, overcomes objections, and converts prospects to residents. Ready to drive more lead-to-lease conversions? Start integrating the power of GenAI at your organization today.