The Lease-Up

Federal housing policy is constantly shifting, making it challenging for multifamily owners, operators and property managers to keep up with every proposal, rule change and court-tested uncertainty. Multi-Housing News Executive Editor Laura Valean reached out to Nicole Upano, assistant vice president of Housing Policy & Regulatory Affairs at the National Apartment Association, for a timely reg...

AI is shaking up many aspects of the multifamily industry, from marketing to leasing to operations, but one aspect that’s less discussed is how the tech can be applied to apartment building construction. To learn more about how AI has already been deployed in multifamily projects, along with what the future potential is, MHN Associate Editor Matthew Kaufman turned to James Garner , a member of the...

This month, Mission Success: Women in Multifamily Host Laura Valean sits down with Lissette Calderon, founder & CEO of Neology Group, and one of the few women leading large-scale residential development in South Florida. Calderon reflects on leaving investment banking, a decision that once felt like failure but ultimately became the first time she truly trusted herself. She also revisits the r...

For the current and next generation of students, showcasing a polished lifestyle across a property’s social media channels is no longer enough. Since social platforms are often where prospects first discover student housing communities, the most effective campaigns are the ones that make students feel like they already understand what it would be like to live there before they even schedule a tour...

Kerry Fedigan’s story begins far from real estate, in the halls of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and later in her own thriving speech pathology practice. But life, as she shares with striking honesty in this podcast, rarely follows a straight line. A deeply personal family challenge prompted her to step away from her business. What followed wasn’t a calculated pivot, but an unexpected openi...

Elizabeth Ambacher, NAA's vice president of meetings and expositions, and Clark Ebbert, director of conference education discuss what’s on the agenda this year and what it says about the evolution of apartment operations. This year’s educational programming, shaped by direct input from NAA’s advisory board, reflects the challenges operators are facing right now. AI remains a major focus, but the c...

As multifamily operators navigate shifting renter expectations, rising competition and rapid technological change, large portfolios are uncovering behavioral patterns and operational insights into renter behavior that smaller firms may not yet see. At scale, data becomes more than a performance metric; It becomes a window into how renters think, search, compare and ultimately decide where to live....

Arqline Property Management was formed in 2026, after residential technology platform Alfred acquired and merged RKW Residential and A Residential (formerly Quarterra Living). For this episode of Management Diaries, Arqline President Kevin Owens shares how the firms navigated the integration, and why aligning people and processes turned out to be harder than aligning the tech. He discusses the thr...

From fighting food insecurity to advancing housing affordability, Rebecca Ely has built her path around one core idea: Real change happens when you connect resources with the people who need them most and invite others to step into that mission. Now Director of Resource Development at Operation Pathways, the resident services arm of The NHP Foundation, Ely operates at the crossroads of affordable...

Creativity is becoming a decisive advantage in New York City multifamily marketing, where intense competition and shifting renter expectations demand more than traditional campaigns. In a city defined by high supply, fast-moving lease-ups and demanding renters, standing out requires more than attractive amenities. Across the country, multifamily teams are rethinking how to attract and retain resid...

Savas Karas, COO & Chief Transformation Officer at CAPREIT, discusses why so many tech-forward initiatives stall or fail in property management. With more than 30 years of management and technology leadership experience, he shares his approach to aligning strategy with execution, from observing on-site teams firsthand to eliminating the hidden workarounds that drain employees. Listen to hear h...

What keeps great employees from leaving, especially when they have every reason and opportunity to do so? In this episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily, Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Valean sits down with Christine Gilmore, vice president of learning and development at Bell Partners, to unpack one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: retention. And not just any retenti...

At a time when housing affordability debates are often driven more by perception than data, taking a closer look at what’s actually behind a rent payment matters more than ever. The National Apartment Association’s Dollar of Rent tool provides a clear, data-driven view of the expenses tied to operating a multifamily property, drawing on tens of thousands of audited, property-level financial statem...

Student housing’s fundamentals are as familiar as ever: high occupancy, steady demand, a pipeline that’s still selective, but the real story in 2026 is where the wins are concentrating and how investors are underwriting them. Harrison Street Asset Management, one of the largest owners in the sector, is leaning into that shift with strategic moves and fresh momentum. In this episode of Student Hous...

Few people in the multifamily industry have a better bird’s eye view of multifamily tech than Kevin Donnelly, executive director and chief advocacy officer of the Real Estate Technology and Transformation Center. In this inaugural episode of MHN Tech Pulse, Donnelly outlines the state of multifamily technology and speculates what the next few years will look like. “We’re in a period of acceleratio...

In this episode, Cerwin Thompson, VP of facilities at RPM Living, and Avery Rouse, regional maintenance director at The Breeden Co. discuss how they’re navigating the staffing challenges in maintenance operations and the strategies they’re implementing. <br>Both leaders started in on-site roles and worked their way up to corporate leadership. Now, they see technicians entering the talent pip...

With a background spanning architecture, design, cultural tourism, teaching and public service, Innovative Housing Opportunities CEO Rochelle Mills brings a holistic lens to development—one that views housing not simply as "heads and beds," but as a catalyst for thriving, high-performing communities. In this deeply personal conversation with MHN Senior Editor Laura Valean for the Mission...

Denile Doyle chats with Cassandra McFadden, vice president & global head of sustainability at Cortland, about how sustainability is becoming a meaningful lever for long-term performance across multifamily. McFadden recounts what it took for Cortland to earn top GRESB ratings and how the company has applied a policy-to-practice approach, from waste diversion to utility management to resident ed...

Digital marketing success is no longer defined by clicks alone. As platforms grow more complex and AI becomes increasingly embedded in campaign execution, today’s top marketers are being challenged to think more strategically, balancing performance metrics with long-term business impact. This episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast, explores the dos and don’ts of digital marketing, th...

“You have to believe it to see it—not the other way around,” said Lynn Jerath, founder & president of Citrine Investment Group, in this anniversary podcast episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily . MHN Senior Editor Laura Valean sits down with Jerath for a deeply personal conversation that goes well beyond titles and transactions. As Mission Success: Women in Multifamily enters its si...

Welcome back to Management Diaries. Jim Cunningham, president of Marquette Management, sits down with MHN’s Denile Doyle to discuss where he believes AI truly adds value for property managers. Cunningham unpacks what thoughtful adoption really looks like when it comes to new technology. He explains how AI is adding value across Marquette’s portfolio, where its limitations show up and why there is...

With nearly 40 properties in the U.S. and the U.K., Korman Communities—now in its fifth generation of family ownership—has long been at the forefront of lifestyle-driven rental housing. Across its communities, the share of renters by choice continues to climb, spanning young professionals, mid-career movers and a rapidly growing demographic of downsizers. In this episode of Mission Success: Women...

What are the forces that will shape the multifamily landscape in 2026? Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Laura Valean asked George Ratiu, vice president of research at the National Apartment Association, to answer this question and many others in the final episode of this year’s NAA Insights podcast series. This episode also dives into the expenses most likely to pressure NOI, the conditions needed...

Student housing has been one of the most resilient real estate sectors coming out of the pandemic, but the way it operates has changed significantly. Competition is only becoming higher in the sector and some markets have been outshining others in terms of performance. In this special episode of our podcast series, Senior Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu talked with Tyson Huebner, director of insti...

In this episode of Management Diaries, Diana Pittro, executive vice president at RMK Management, joins MHN’s Denile Doyle. We talk about leasing, resident retention and how the role of the leasing professional has changed over the years, going from a side hustle to a respected profession that requires skills and experience. When hiring leasing staff, Pittro looks beyond energy or a bubbly personal...