COVID-19 Is Accelerating the Demise of the Leasing Office
COVID-19 has accelerated the demise of the in-person leasing office, according to real estate technology provider MRI Software. But the need for leasing and management efficiency will continue beyond the pandemic, it argued.
“New normal” is a phrase heavily used to describe life after COVID-19. But property management software provider MRI Software argued more leasing officers and property managers will remotely leverage technology for efficiency and make leasing offices for multifamily properties a thing of the past.
To be sure, COVID-19 is only accelerating the previous trend of leasing offices going paperless and working in smaller offices, MRI Software noted. However, COVID-19 forced many leasing offices to rapidly adopt tech-based solutions to remain productive without unnecessary exposure to the public.
In six months, leasing offices quickly transitioned to self-guided and video tours of properties, online applications, e-signatures and online payments, MRI Software said. “It is safe to say that we are operating our properties very differently than we anticipated at the start of the year,” said MRI Software industry principal Brian Zrimsek in a company blog post.
But as leasing offices reopen and some employees return, Zrimsek argued technology will continue to be leveraged to maintain the many leasing office tasks that don’t require in-person interactions.
For example, internet listing services and property websites; maintenance software and online request submissions; property management and accounting software with budgeting and forecasting features and other tech-based solutions can be used remotely, leaving only physical security and maintenance as the only activities that require an onsite presence, Zrimsek argued.
Relying on technology will not only impact how leasing offices’ function but where they work. Zrimsek noted MRI Software client AvalonBay Communities opened its Kanso Twinbrook apartments in the fall without a leasing office or onsite amenities. Kanso Twinbrook is a development style that may be duplicated by future multifamily properties when leasing offices go virtual to focus on affordability and efficiency, Zrimsek said.
Indeed, multifamily property managers may have to become more cost-efficient as apartment rent payments fell for the third straight month in August, the National Multifamily Housing Council announced. The missed payments are likely to continue into September as states and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) attempt to implement a program to partially restore unemployment benefits, forecasters warned.
Renters also recently received some eviction relief after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Tuesday a temporary halt on evictions in order to avoid COVID-19 from spreading. That order only applies to those making under $99,000 a year and is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2020, Globe St. reported.