Is Rent Comp Data Leading You Astray?

Today, most PMCs rely on rent comp data from call-arounds and websites to help decide on pricing, build forecasts, and create strategies. But how accurate are rent comps? Not very, it turns out. There can be a huge gap between what’s advertised and what actually ends up on the lease. And that’s in stable times. Now we're in a time of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 upheaval and downturn. There are no more givens. PMCs need better data if they’re going to avoid risky, hunch-driven bets. It is possible to navigate the COVID-19 downturn effectively. But what you need is access to real transactional data -- that is, the actual numbers that end up on the leases -- coupled with advanced market analytics. According to Natalie Long, Manager of Client Success for Market Analytics at RealPage, “Market research is critical in a time of uncertainty, like COVID-19. PMCs only outperform competitors by using accurate, real-time data to drive operational strategies while their competitors remain reactive. They need a solid market, submarket, and property intel to identify the best opportunities, minimize risk, and maximize returns. Transactional data is a must-have. It’s the gold standard. And then they need market analytics to go from data to decision. At RealPage, we aggregate executed transactional data from millions of units to power our Market Analytics solution.” In a recent RealPage webcast entitled Smart Solutions: Play Ahead with Next-Gen Market Research, Long engaged a team of RealPage executives and customer experts to bring some clarity to the issue of rent comps vs. real-time data. Webcast participants included Bryan Hilton, SVP Revenue Management at Simpson Housing, Sierra Garza, Senior Revenue Manager at BH Companies, Steve Pribonic, Senior Research Analyst at White Oak Partners, Rich Hughes, RealPage SVP of Data Science, Greg Willett, RealPage Chief Economist and Jay Parsons, RealPage V...