The Lease-Up

Carly Stevenson started her 20-year real estate career as a leasing consultant and climbed the ranks organically to her current role: executive vice president of property management with Avanath Capital Management. While she admits that affordable and workforce housing property management is a tough business—particularly in the current economic environment—her conviction for her mission is unwavering."There’s something about equating the homes to souls that just does it for me, where it helps me center and understand how sacred it is to do what we do on a daily basis," she told MHN's Laura Calugar in this month’s Mission Success: Women in Multifamily podcast episode. Press play to hear the entire episode!

Welcome back, or welcome to, Top Marketers, a Multi-Housing News production with Senior Associate Editor, Jordana Rothberg.Breaking into any new career path or industry is a daunting task. But with the advice of a veteran, that move can be a bit easier. That’s why for this month’s episode I spoke with Amanda Parker-Wolery, vice president of marketing, Organized Living, about her transition into marketing and how she views the industry now. Parker-Wolery has an expertise in strategic marketing, project management and team leadership. She has been with Organized Living since 2021 but was previously in academia. Tune in to listen to her transition into marketing, what it’s like to market in a multifamily-adjacent space, and her advice to people in roles similar to her own. Follow along as we discuss:·        How Parker-Wolery got into marketing and her role as a creative problem solver (0:50)·        The transition from higher education to marketing (3:30)·        Parker-Wolery’s advice for anyone looking to get into marketing (5:15)·        Why marketing is such an exciting field right now (7:00)·        The results from leaning into AI (9:50)·        What it’s like to market in a multifamily adjacentspace (11:00)·        Parker-Wolery’s advice on marketing to both owner/developers and residents from a manufacturing perspective (13:45)·        Listening to pain points, asking questions and adapting (16:00)·        Challenges that Parker-Wolery has faced in hermmarketing career and the lessons learned (18:45)

In this episode, Laura Khouri, president of Western National Property Management, joins MHN’s Denile Doyle to share her perspective on creating value and impact on the people side of property management. At Western, Khouri oversees a portfolio of more than 170 communities. As someone who started out as a “gopher” and worked her way up to president of the company in 2010, she has amassed a wealth of knowledge and insights into people. She credits a 10-year stint in human resources for helping her to discover her passion for guiding people to the right decisions. Khouri discusses her people-first philosophy and how she transformed her company’s approach to leadership. From site visits to making thoughtful operational decisions that impact associates, and oftentimes residents, she offers her strategies for leadership that makes a difference. Here are a few highlights from this episode:How Khouri created cohesion across her company, from the corporate level to the site level (3:50)The impact of using mystery shopping not only as a teaching tool but also a recognition tool (12:28)The biggest mistake she sees owners making during downturns (17:53)Her objective during official and unofficial site visits (20:21)Her advice for leaders on how to make the most impact on their teams (27:39)

March is National Women's History Month, a period reserved for the celebration of women’s achievements. And while it’s true that we at Multi-Housing News do that every month on the Mission Success: Women in Multifamily podcast, it still feels special to be able to share the voice of strong women who have left their mark in the multifamily industry.My guest is an experienced architecture and urban design specialist and a life-long resident of Los Angeles, an area that was recently devastated by the most destructive wildfires in California's history. Alexandria Hoevel is multifamily studio leader & vice president of Corgan's Los Angeles office, and she agreed to share her thoughts about what her hometown has been through.

Multifamily housing is dependent upon so many factors: economics, government, policy, locations, demographics, etc. To create successful multifamily brand or campaign, a marketer needs to understand all of these things, and so much more. So, who better to discuss the dynamics behind the role than someone with a background in communications, marketing, government and multifamily? In this episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast, Eric Bederman, the vice president & director of communications at Community Preservation Corp., joins MHN Senior Associate Editor Jordana Rothberg to look at the industry at large.In his current role, Bederman oversees marketing and communications efforts to promote CPC’s nonprofit mission and its lending and investing platforms, as well as positioning CPC as a thought leader in the multifamily housing industry. Prior to joining CPC in 2015, Bederman served as the press secretary for the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development for six years, spanning both the Bloomberg and de Blasio administrations, and has held other positions as a marketer and communications professional over the course of his career.Tune in to hear the two go over:·       How Bederman got to his current role and the factors that made the difference (1:20)·       Similarities and differences between working for a city agency and a nonprofit (6:40)·       Bederman’s favorite marketing resources at CPC (9:15)·       The importance of thought leadership (11:05)·       How to stretch marketing dollars with a limited budget (13:10) ·       Campaigns that make Bederman proud and the communication strategies behind them (15:20)  ·       What’s changed in marketing and real estate and where the industry is going now (21:40)

In this episode, MHN’s Denile Doyle chats with Avery Rouse, a regional maintenance director at The Breeden Co. and recipient of the Rising Star Award at our 2024 MHN Excellence Awards. We look at the challenges and best practices behind managing maintenance teams at multifamily properties.Rouse discusses how maintenance leaders can eliminate inefficiencies and how training staff well can help minimize costs and improve resident satisfaction. He shares his practical strategies for keeping costs down and maximizing the quality of service.

In today’s complex environment that makes it hard to secure favorable financing terms, The Clear Blue Co.—a developer and owner-operator of workforce and affordable multifamily properties based in Nashville, Tenn.—has found a way to make its projects pencil out. The company does acquisitions and rehabilitations by leaning in on its relationship with long-term partners.“We’ve been creative and changed our acquisition strategy a little bit as a result of acquisition-rehab and preservation really becoming more complicated,” said Ashley Stockton-Massie, the firm’s recently appointed director of affordable acquisitions and development, in the February episode of the Mission Success: Women in Multifamily podcast series.Press PLAY to hear the entire conversation!

Returning to Multi-Housing News’ quarterly podcast with the National Multifamily Housing Council for the third time, President Sharon Wilson Géno is looking to 2025 with “consistent caution,” as well as high enthusiasm. There are a lot of policies and initiatives that she is campaigning for, as well as some notable potential changes to keep an eye on.   Wilson Géno holds more than 30 years of experience in the housing industry. Having served counsel both in-house and outside for various organizations, she is well versed in housing law and policy, government and non-government contracts, nonprofit organizations, legislation and policy around affordable housing and more.  In this episode, Wilson Géno and Multi-Housing News Senior Associate Editor Jordana Rothberg discuss what a new administration could mean for multifamily, how sentiment has changed since last year and some ways the industry might trend in 2025.   Listen in as the two talk about:·        The sentiment around multifamily as expressed in NMHC’s annual meeting (1:00)·        If multifamily still real estate’s “darling child” (2:30)·        Scott Turner’s confirmation and the impacts he might have (4:20)·        The Bipartisan Real Estate Caucus and how it can shape national housing (5:50)·        Policies that Wilson Géno has her eye on for 2025 on the national, state and local level (7:45)·        What multifamily and individuals can to do advocate for more housing (11:45)·        NMHC’s focus for the year ahead (14:10)·        How the Fed will impact multifamily in 2025 (16:00)·        Multifamily transaction and deal volume trends (17:20)·        NMHC’s quarterly survey of apartment conditions results and what they reflect (19:15)·        Why advocacy matters (22:45) Recorded February 5, 2024

With GDP growth in 2024 averaging 2.5 percent, the American economy is in good shape at the beginning of this year. The labor market remains strong, wage growth is elevated and nobody is forecasting a recession. However, stringent immigration policies from the current White House administration could pose risks.Paula Munger, vice president of research at the National Apartment Association, talks to Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Calugar in the latestNAA Insights podcast.

Rising construction costs and economic volatility bring setbacks in the student housing landscape, although developers and investors are turning to in-house construction teams or more capital-light options. Yet, with so many opportunities in the sector, some are turning to data-driven insights to choose the best sites and ensure higher ROI as well as operational efficiency. That’s also the case with Subtext, which is active in 15 markets across the U.S. and relies on its in-house data team for better market selection and to ensure higher occupancy rates. With a portfolio of over 19 communities and 10,000 beds, the company focuses on major institutions and a hospitality-centric, experience-based approach in its projects, thus guaranteeing resident satisfaction. In this podcast episode of Student Housing Unlocked, Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu discusses what it takes to have success in the student housing sector in this era of data and how the company is leveraging it to overcome challenges and deliver high-quality communities that students want to live in with Subtext’s Founding Partner & Co-CEO Brandt Stiles. Here’s what they discussed about: What’s defining student housing today? (01:45) Data points that matter when it comes to development (04:05) Affordability is the number one challenge in student housing (06:33) Taking as much information as you can is key to success (09:12) How can data influence the outcome of a project (13:35) Addressing underutilized space in student housing (15:30) Occupancy growth goes hand in hand with reputation (18:25) Strategies that contribute to residents’ satisfaction: going back to basics (20:10) Experience-based design and hospitality as amenities (23:18) Subtext’s flagship projects across the country and next moves (28:30) How will student housing development perform in 2025? (36:30)