Key takeaways
- AI is a tool that thinks and draws its own conclusions with the help of large datasets.
- Some examples of AI you might already be familiar with include self-driving cars and recommendation algorithms.
- You can use AI property management in many ways, such as helping with leasing or investing.
Across industries, the use of artificial intelligence is the next big thing. AI in multifamily property management is growing in popularity, such as AI leasing assistants. But how exactly can AI help you do your job and keep your residents happy?
In this post, we’ll explain how AI works and help you understand how you can use it in real estate. Then, we go over five ways that AI can help you manage your multifamily property.
This post covers:
What is AI?
AI is a term for computer programs that can use large amounts of data to train themselves and generate efficient responses. By examining its own outputs and seeing what it can improve on, an AI begins to problem-solve and “think” on its own.
As you might imagine, the sets of data that you use to train an AI can be anything you want — which means that AI has plenty of applications.
You might be familiar with AI in these contexts:
- Self-driving cars. In this case, a self-driving AI might train on datasets, including things like images of stop signs or different kinds of radar or LiDAR readings. Then, the AI will know when to turn, start, and stop safely.
- Recommendation algorithms. After you’ve used a service like Spotify or Netflix, you may have noticed that these platforms automatically recommend similar media. After seeing what you like to watch, AI can adjust to your preferences and begin to show you movies or songs that have more in common with your tastes.
- Facial detection. If you’ve ever wondered how social media pages apply filters to somebody’s face in real-time, wonder no further — AI helps with facial recognition and tracking. Plus, AI-enabled facial detection helps increase security in places like airports or banks, where security cameras abound.
How will AI be used in real estate?
As in countless other industries, AI will be used in real estate to streamline processes and eliminate busy work — freeing people to focus on personalized work that requires a human touch.
Now that you know that AI works in the context of large amounts of data, you may be wondering what that looks like in the world of multifamily property management. Luckily, there are tons of examples. Where AI property management is concerned, your residents, staff members, prospects, and even your physical building itself are always generating tons of data.
With the help of AI, you can begin to sort through that data, establish what’s relevant, and make improvements and adjustments as you see fit.
Can AI generate real estate leads?
Yes — you can count on AI to augment your staff’s existing efforts and generate leads with the power of data-driven efficiency.
When prospects look at your property online, you might be able to access useful information like how they found your website or their occupation. An AI can automatically reach out to prospects, find openings in schedules, and answer questions that generate leads.
Top 5 AI in multifamily housing examples
While language-based AI models might be the current rage, they only scratch the surface of what AI can help you accomplish. Let’s take a look at how multifamily AI can help in all aspects of property management.
Use these AI in multifamily examples to help you with:
1. Leasing
When prospective residents are looking for a place to rent, chances are they aren’t just strolling into a leasing office. Rather, they are using the internet to scout potential residences—and that means that your staff is often too busy fielding calls and answering messages to get anything done.
Instead, consider investing in AI leasing software to augment your website. Prospects can talk to a virtual agent if they have any questions or comments about the property — and they can even schedule their own appointments. This way, you can let your staff focus on personalizing visits and making your property appealing instead of saddling them with busy work.
2. Investing
AI real estate investing comes with benefits and efficiencies that all add to your bottom line. For example, Wall Street traders already make use of AI’s lighting-fast capabilities to make high-frequency trades and automate some of their decisions with the help of algorithms.
More specifically, an AI would also have the speed and bandwidth to search through millions of property listings — and if you’re looking for predictions to base a financial strategy on or investment opportunities involving undervalued properties, an AI would be able to help you with that.
3. Automation
When it comes to tasks like scheduling prospect visits, database maintenance, or property maintenance, AI can help you out by intelligently predicting what you’ll need.
And while we’ve covered how AI can help you convert prospects into residents, you only need a few more tweaks to help out your residents, as well. Using the same technology, you can power a tenant-focused AI chatbot that can answer questions and schedule maintenance requests without pulling your staff away from their other duties.
4. Utility costs
You may be surprised to learn that AI in property management can help you in more areas than bureaucracy and software. You can also use it to realize concrete, physical savings when it comes to your utilities.
Let’s take electricity usage as an example. With the help of sensors that detect electricity usage, an AI can analyze tenant data to find out when peak hours of electricity usage are and when there are lows. Then, it can distribute power within your building more efficiently — leading to savings for you and your residents.
5. Building maintenance
Finally, utility costs aren’t the only thing AI can help you out with. With the help of smart sensors in places like windows, pipes, or your HVAC system, an AI system can create something called a digital twin.
Digital twins are virtual representations of your building that track important real-time metrics. With a digital twin, you can detect malfunctions like a pipe that’s about to burst or a broken AC system — often months before the part actually breaks and begins to affect residents negatively.
