Data and Trends are Telling the Story in Multifamily

April’s Texas Apartment Association 2018 Education Conference was time to absorb not only some good fare and a slow stroll on the Riverwalk but emerging trends in the apartment industry. And maybe a moment to wishfully think about the chances of winning the raffle for a 2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia that sat behind ropes on the expo floor in San Antonio. At the TAA conference, we looked at trends. Trends are marked by data, a big driver in technology that has become second nature in multifamily today. Numbers often tell a convincing story, whether by purpose or luck, and impact decisions for the effective management of properties–and residents. Shift from rural to metro areas The morning after the conference kicked off, marketer Kelly McDonald revealed some thought-provoking data about shifts in U.S. urban and rural populations and the domino effect it will have on multifamily housing. She pointed out that according to the U.S. Census, rural areas of the U.S. are getting more bucolic as people are moving out of the countryside and into non-rural or metro areas. In July 2016, the country’s rural population declined for the sixth straight year to 46.1 million or 14 percent of U.S. residents who inhabit almost three-fourths of the country’s land area. And deaths are outnumbering births in many rural counties. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, population growth from natural change is not offsetting loss from net migration as much as in the past. In other words, fewer people are born in rural areas than die in them, closing the gap on the difference between migrants coming in and leaving the country. Also, the demographics are changing in rural America. More minorities are moving outside of metro areas, which means, says McDonald, that multifamily housing is going to have to rethink marketing approaches. How lifestyles are projected in lease and retention strategies will certainly change as the population becomes more diverse. Goin...