Leasing up new properties in competitive markets is a high-stakes game, especially when confronted with inflation and uncertain market data. Revenue teams face immense pressure from stakeholders to stabilize occupancy and maximize revenue quickly.

The effects of inflation and subpar market insights create doubt, leading to revenue expectations that may not be in sync with market conditions–and financial instability for owners and operators trying to maximize their returns.

Tracking leasing metrics is crucial for revenue teams' forecasting. Accurate, transparent, and ethically sourced data help refine pricing strategies, enhancing property occupancy and profitability.

Optimizing multifamily revenue involves tracking a comprehensive set of metrics for your own portfolio and primary competitors. By focusing on the right data in real time, you can optimize your data aggregation process to achieve stabilized occupancy and maximize revenue. Use these ten essential metrics to ensure your rental income stays on target.

Advertised Occupancy

It's good practice to know how your occupancy holds up against the competition. Tracking advertised occupancy helps make informed pricing decisions based on similar properties so that you can see the revenue needle tick upward.

However, it's not enough to just track occupancy monthly or quarterly. Competitors may choose to run promotions at certain times of the month or year, which can dramatically skew your assumptions.

Consider tracking advertised occupancy daily or weekly so that you can reference comp trends and make pricing strategy adjustments that entice renters before your competitors do.

Exposure Percentage

A clear understanding of your total available units empowers immediate action to get vacancies leased up.

High exposure indicates potential revenue loss until those units turnover. Monitoring exposure percentage provides valuable insight into market saturation, giving you current and historical data to identify seasonality, speak to market performance, and proactively make pricing recommendations to stay ahead of the competition.

Rent/Average Rent

Observing rent rate trends and keeping pricing in line with market expectations facilitates renewals and forecasting likely income. With existing renters staying in place, your teams can focus on appealing to prospects and closing the vacancy gap.

Using rent trend data allows teams to make pricing decisions by digging into the relationship between rent pricing, features, and amenities. Setting premium prices for units with high-valued comforts that renters want can help achieve targeted occupancy rates and revenue growth.

Net Effective Rent/Average NER

Analyzing both metrics helps teams understand their properties' financial standing after concessions are deducted. A higher NER reflects a healthier market position, whereas a low NER may signal a potential decline in revenue.

Using NER trend data provides visibility into property performance, and allows teams to corroborate where growth was prevalent and dips were felt. Pinpointing highs and lows, and comparing the concessions offered (if any), can assist occupancy stabilization and proactive revenue forecasting.

Concessions

Concessions help properties minimize vacancy periods. Evaluating concession effectiveness balances renter attraction with revenue impact, giving your teams evident data around which concessions renters found most valuable.

Tracking this metric and comparing the timing of concession offers to occupancy levels is a reliable method for accurately reporting revenue potential.

Applications

With the number of apartment applications submitted, you can better anticipate occupancy trends and determine potential revenue.

Comparing the number of received applications against your competitors provides insight into your properties' market positions, so your teams can make optimized pricing decisions that drive qualified leads to fill out an application.

Leases

Signed leases guarantee rental income, providing visibility into immediate revenue. Tracking lease data helps teams determine which properties are thriving and those needing attention.

A downtrend in leases may indicate temporary fluctuation in market demand, or a competitor has adjusted their pricing to incentivize prospects. Understanding your lease trends can increase income stability and predictability, strengthening your company's financials.

Available Units

Understanding the types of available units at your properties and competitors allows you to adjust pricing and marketing strategies accordingly. Quick turnover and readiness of units increase occupancy, which provides you with better visibility into revenue projections.

Comparing your available units against the competition lets you gauge your market position and act on pricing adjustments that convert quality leads.

Days on Market

Shortening the days on the market leads to more stable occupancy and revenue. Tracking this metric helps teams discover demand trends and leasing inefficiencies, providing insight to optimize rental rates and fill vacancies.

You can use this data to analyze your comps and see the timeframe of moving similar units.

Rent & NER/Sq. Ft

Regularly analyzing rent and NER per square foot enables teams to adjust pricing relative to demand and maximize rental income. Tracking these rates over time provides a clear picture of how your properties are performing against others, identifying revenue opportunities and forecasting growth.

For example, when NER per square foot is lower than the market average, it may indicate an opportunity to increase rents. Use this information to measure rent growth and seasonality trends.

Achieving property stabilization hinges on the precision and transparency of your data. These elements are crucial for successful lease-ups and driving profitability. Effectively communicating these insights to shareholders underpins property viability and is vital for overall performance and financial growth. By meticulously tracking these leasing metrics with automated and high-quality public data, your teams can make the most informed decisions across your portfolio.