Smart Solutions for Gaining Control of Spending During COVID-19

The dramatic shift in multifamily housing resulting from COVID-19 has required new solutions for how vendors and service providers can help keep America’s apartments running. For operators, managing spending has become more challenging for an industry that is still trying to find balance. Apartment demand for the second quarter was sluggish, with most leasing activity registered in June. About three in 10 of the country’s biggest markets suffered net move-outs from their apartment stocks, with the biggest hits in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. At the same time, social distancing restrictions eased as states reopened to revive an economy that had slowed considerably. Since then, multifamily housing maintenance teams have been getting back to work. The result is that apartment portfolios are feeling added pressure on spending for make-ready services and maintenance. Now is a good time for multifamily operators to work with their vendors to put a plan in place for recovery, industry professionals say. “Overall, spend is recovering, as more new leases mean more make-readies, and companies start to tackle the pile up of pending maintenance requests,” said Sara Jones, who is senior vice president of spend management at RealPage. “A strong sudden demand for supplies and services could stress the supply chain.” Need arises to better manage expenses to offset lost revenue Key suppliers in RealPage’s vendor management program say they’ve had to adjust and find new solutions to keep goods and services flowing so apartments can move forward with repairs and maintenance. Doug Peterson, Vice President of Multifamily Sales-National Accounts for HD Supply; Scott Matthews, Vice President Pro Outside Sales for Lowe’s; Brian Mendelson, Vice President, Business Development at AZ Partsmaster; and Jeff Melton, Vice President of National Accounts for RediCarpet joined Jones in June for “Smart Solutions: How to Ad...