Multifamily operators interact with apartment residents every day. They see the work orders come through, answer questions, manage renewals, and hear occasional feedback at the front desk. If you are a Community Manager, throughout the day you may feel like you have a good pulse on your residents' experiences and their upcoming renewal decisions.
But do you really know what your residents are thinking beyond what is shared with you?
As you plan for your 2027 budget, read the latest research on how gaining authentic resident feedback directly impacts your renewals.
When a resident gives notice there's usually a reason deeper behind it. Maybe rent increased, they needed more space, relocated for work, or bought a house.
Those reasons are easy to capture, categorize, and report. But they don't always tell the whole story.
Research highlighted by a recent Multifamily Executive article suggests that more than half of resident turnover is preventable. "Resident retention rates have declined from 60% to 57% over the past several years" and everyone is trying to get to the bottom of it.
Generic conclusions are easy to make when reporting retention results. Citing the need for an amenity upgrade, a transient market, or floor plan concerns may explain a portion of resident turnover. But we can gain better insight by going deeper into the resident experience to understand what is really driving the decision.
The article continues, "Properties investing heavily in amenity upgrades while neglecting responsiveness to maintenance requests may be missing the mark. Communities focused on lease incentives while ignoring ongoing safety concerns may be solving for the wrong variable."
The opportunity is clear: It is more critical than ever to build trust with residents and remain open to unbiased feedback so that owners and operators alike can receive an accurate picture of renewal rate performance and strategize solutions more effectively.
The Story Behind the Renewal
While online feedback surveys, maintenance polls, and resident experience pulse checks offer convenient, cost-effective ways to gather data, relying on these methods alone can leave part of the resident story untold.
"The gaps between operator perception and resident reality often point directly to missed opportunities, especially around the controllable factors like maintenance responsiveness, security, and how rent increases are communicated and perceived," the article said.
This isn't a reflection of onsite teams not caring or paying attention. It's quite the opposite. Community Managers are often balancing leasing goals, resident requests, maintenance coordination, collections, tours, reporting, and dozens of other priorities at once. While they care about their residents, the truth is they may not have the time, systems, or touchpoints to see the entire experience from the resident's point of view.
Here at Apartment Life, we saw this play out firsthand in a partnership with Greystar.
During resident outreach, one of our coordinators connected with two residents who appeared to be happy and had no obvious problems at the community. On the surface, there was little reason to consider either resident a retention risk.
But during the conversation, the team discovered that both were planning not to renew due to financial concerns.
That information changed what happened next.
Because of their Renewal Reach-Out conversation, the Apartment Life Coordinators were able to alert property management right away. The onsite staff followed up with the residents and presented an opportunity to save money during their renewal. Both residents stayed.
That's the success of a personal resident connection in action.
The deciding information didn't come from a digital work order, a satisfaction score, or a move-out survey. It surfaced because someone had established trust with the residents and took the time to have a personal conversation before their decision was final.
A Renewal Strategy That Works
At Apartment Life, we've recognized this disconnect and the need for more touchpoints throughout the resident life cycle. While we love monthly community events, we know there is additional value in the deeper relationships that form because our coordinators show up consistently in the everyday lives of your residents.
As our coordinators show interest in residents' lives, ask revealing questions, and care for them, residents begin to open up. Simply put: they trust us.
That's why we designed the Renewal Strategy, a service element that can be added to any Apartment Life program, regardless of community type or asset class.
Within this strategy, your leasing staff provides our coordinators with a list of residents approaching renewal within the next 120 days.
Our coordinators then engage as an extension of your onsite staff with a personal, three-pronged outreach strategy, attempting to connect with each resident and provide a small thank-you gift. Intentionality, connection, and hospitality go a long way with people.
Because our coordinators spend time getting to know residents, you may be surprised by what we learn from asking two simple questions: "How has your experience been living here?" and "What are your plans for renewal?"
Each month, our owners and operators receive a Trend Report highlighting each resident interaction, specific feedback, and a satisfaction score reflecting their overall experience at the community.
The result is more than a meaningful resident interaction. It's actionable insight your onsite team can use before the renewal decision is made.
We hear real feedback responses like this one:
As you look to finish the year strong and begin planning for 2027, you can take action right away to gather more authentic insight into your residents' experiences.
Ahead of the feedback survey or the email sharing renewal terms, pick up the phone and call your residents. Ask how their family is doing. Ask, "How has your experience been living here?" and "What can we do to better care for you?"
Try incorporating a fun, thoughtful gift as a thank-you for taking the time to talk and as a simple expression of appreciation for choosing your community as their home, regardless of their upcoming renewal decision.
And if you don't have time to incorporate the genuine connections you desire as part of your renewal strategy, we would love to help you.
Speak with one of our team members today about how we can incorporate a Renewal Strategy into your Apartment Life program.
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