The Lease-Up

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...

"Nothing is beneath you," said Jacqueline Kluger in this month’s Mission Success: Women in Multifamily podcast episode. Originally trained in hospitality management, Kluger began her career with Marriott before realizing she wanted to be on the ownership side of real estate. Since joining Philadelphia-based Post Brothers in 2018, she has helped close more than $1.4 billion in financing a...

In this episode, I sit down with Village Green CEO Diane Batayeh to talk about leading a 106-year-old company. Our conversation goes beyond operations, diving into lessons from Batayeh’s decades-long career, including getting comfortable with being uncomfortable, learning from “fresh mistakes” and mentoring the next generation of leaders. Batayeh shares how she bridges resident expectations with i...

In proptech, it’s estimated that only about 10 percent of company founders are women. Narrow that focus to multifamily proptech, and the percentage likely drops below one. Why? "From my perspective, it’s not a capability thing, it’s more about capital allocations and who has access,” said Jessica Beck, co-founder & CEO of Alfred, in a conversation with Multi-Housing News Senior Editor Lau...

Guided by seven fundamentals, dubbed return on environment, Mary Cook Associates is known for bringing art and science into the spaces the firm designs, driving measurable results for both residents and its collaborators. In the student housing space, rather than focusing on current trends , the firm positions itself as a “design choreographer” by co-crafting experience beyond just interiors. In t...

Housing economist George Ratiu joined the National Apartment Association as vice president of research a few months ago, after 15 years working for trade associations, Fortune 500 companies and the federal government. In his first podcast with MHN’s Laura Valean, he dives into the association’s latest research, but also touches on how AI is changing multifamily operations, and the metrics he monit...

Multifamily fundamentals continue to be strong, with record demand and annual absorption at high levels, Newmark’s second-quarter multifamily capital markets report found. Investors continue to favor the Sun Belt, but some Rust Belt markets like Milwaukee and Columbus have also been showing strong absorption.    "Because of affordability and stable employment basis and perhaps lower supply gr...

Once considered a nice-to-have, digital concierge serviceshave become essential in multifamily living. From AI leasing to intuitive resident apps, they streamline operations, elevate customer service and shape the way communities connect and thrive. In this episode of Multi-Housing News ' Top Marketers podcast, we explore the transformative power of digital concierge services in the multifamily wo...

For owners and operators, an underperforming property can negatively impact renewals, resident engagement and even on-site teams. My guest for this episode is John Griggs, co-founder & co-CEO of Presidium. We talk about how operators can identify problems early and get properties back on track, without your residents losing faith in you. Even the small issues, like a broken window or a candy w...

September is National Preparedness Month, making it the perfect time to rethink what readiness really means for multifamily property managers. In this episode of Management Diaries, MHN’s Denile Doyle sits down with Stacy Brown, Vice President of Property Management Enablement at Real Property Management, to dig into what preparedness really looks like for today’s operators. Here are a few highlig...

One in eight Americans go to bed hungry each day, while 92 billion pounds of food is wasted annually. Hunger is a blind disease, and food insecurity is rampant across the country. But the multifamily industry can play a key role in combating this phenomenon.   When people move, they tend to throw away a lot of food. This is when your onsite staff can provide them with a food collection bag and enc...

Immersive marketing is rapidly transforming how prospective renters discover and connect with apartment communities. From interactive tours to fully immersive media platforms, today’s marketing landscape is all about meeting renters where they are—digitally. In this month’s episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast, Izzy Carunungan, industry principal at Yardi and former chief marketing...