Centralized Leasing Operations Gain in Popularity
Improved KPIs and employee morale are among the strategy’s benefits.
Centralized management is working for Portland-based apartment operator Anchor Northwest Property Group. It has used the strategy for 15 years.
Its chief operating officer, Jim Rostel, directs 32 communities in the market using only five leasing agents. The company’s leasing professionals have a 60% tour-to-application ratio, including one leasing professional who achieves about 80% success. The company’s lease-to-tour ratio is 40%, he said.
Anchor is a family-run business that develops and owns its properties, which total 2,100 units and have an overall occupancy rate of 97%. He said his devoted staff has a 95% retention rate.
The topic continues to be popular at industry conferences, such as the Apartment Strategy Symposium presented in partnership with Blueprint and Multifamily Insiders, held this week in Las Vegas. “Centralization gives you relief as an operator, and it creates upward mobility for your staff,” says Dustin Lacey, Vice President of Marketing and Technology Mark-Taylor, who employs many Gen Zs.
“They find that specialist roles give them more happiness. They enjoy being ‘good’ at something. And we are paying these specialists more.”
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Specialized maintenance is the next page in centralized services; Aaron Maas hired a maintenance tech who does plumbing. “There’s plenty for him to do, especially in older assets. He’s a shared service within our portfolio,” Lacey detailed.
These firms follow others who find centralized leasing’s popularity and widespread adoption can bring an adjustment period.
Multifamily operators realize the potential. From simplifying the rental process for potential residents to expanding the leasing team’s skill sets, centralized leasing may seem like the perfect solution. However, with no one set method of implementation and no one brand or company defining it the same way, centralized leasing can be a challenging opportunity to tackle.
“One of the reasons why centralized leasing is so important and relevant is that it is actually quite a confusing subject with many different people trying to attack it from many different angles,” Eric Brody, founder of ANAX Real Estate Partners, told Multi-Housing News in May.
