Savvy apartment owners have already dropped rents to prop upleasing activity during stay-at-home orders. Trio Properties, a LosAngeles-based multifamily owner and developer, lowered rents 5% to8% in late March to get ahead of the situation and competition. Asa result, it has seen an increase in leasing activity and move-insduring the pandemic.

"We have signed a ton of new leases and we have had a ton of newmove-ins," Max Sharkansky, principal ofTrion Properties, tells GlobeSt.com. "We adjustedrents down a little bit and added some concessions. We really gotahead of it. We started that program in mid- to late-March, and wegot ahead of a lot of our competitors that just were not moving onrents. We were tracking rent trends daily, and a lot of ourcompetitors just staying on their path. When we reduced rents, wesaw a huge spike in leasing activity."