Joel Nelson

New Tech Era

For decades, commercial property managers regarded information technology as a support function, one that was almost always isolated from the strategic direction of the business. Today, with virtually all property stakeholders expecting greater operational control and transparency, relegating IT to a peripheral or firefighting role is no longer an option. The consensus among Yardi’s Dhar […]

10 / 08 / 19

Technology

Energy Efficiency Day

If encouragement to “save money; cut carbon; breathe easier” seems more prominent than usual where you live and work, it’s because today is Energy Efficiency Day, and that’s the key message the event’s organizers are promoting. A nationwide alliance of energy efficiency advocacy groups sponsors Energy Efficiency Day to share “tips, tools and stories that […]

10 / 02 / 19

Energy Suite

Office Market Update

A new report from Yardi® Matrix shows that demand for U.S. office space remains strong, with office-using employment sector growth—which, at 1.7% year-over-year, tops overall non-farm employment growth—driving a 0.1% year-over-year street rate increase in August 2019. “Markets with lower-than-average vacancy rates and solid office-using employment growth continue to have the highest rate of year-over-year […]

10 / 01 / 19

Virtual Ease

Paying for the materials and services that keep a property running smoothly has never been simpler or more convenient. That’s because Yardi Bill Pay now allows payments with Mastercard-branded virtual credit cards. Property managers can execute the entire vendor payment transaction process with a single-use virtual card number. The process embeds transaction-level controls and leverages […]

09 / 27 / 19

Migration Matters

U.S. migration from domestic and international sources continues to hold profound implications for the country’s economy and demographic composition. It’s also the subject of a new research report from Yardi Matrix. The report notes that the South, Southwest and West accounted for 80% of the population growth in the country’s top 50 metros between 1970 […]

09 / 20 / 19

Self Storage Update

Will too much of a good thing hurt the U.S. self storage industry? Possibly, but elevated supply is just one uncertainty surrounding the sector, which was the subject of a recent update presented by Yardi Matrix. Those who invest, manage and develop self storage properties have some positive economic data on their side, such as […]

09 / 19 / 19

Office Sector Update

The U.S. office property market stayed on the upswing in July, with asking rates increasing 1.1% year-over-year. Office-using jobs increased 1.7% in the same period, driven by the computer design services portion of the professional business services segment, according to a new national report from Yardi® Matrix. Additional good news includes a robust late-cycle construction […]

09 / 05 / 19

Storage Going Cold?

Headwinds are on the rise in the U.S. self storage sector, even as self storage facility developers continue to break ground on new projects amid favorable economic and demographic dynamics. The implications of high supply levels are the focus of a new report from Yardi Matrix. Street rates plummeted in July 2019, dropping by 2.5% […]

08 / 27 / 19

Sunny Outlook

Solar power is a burgeoning alternative energy source that accounts for 1.6% of total U.S. electricity generation and encompasses enough installed capacity to power 12.3 million homes. It’s the second-fastest source of new generation on the U.S. power grid, but it’s not flawless. Arrays that capture solar energy don’t work at night or when obscured […]

08 / 27 / 19

Nearing Zero

The processes and technology needed to start moving to “net zero” buildings—those that produce enough renewable energy to meet their annual energy consumption requirements—are available today. How to make them widely understood, accepted and implemented was the focus of a recent webinar featuring Akshai Rao, Yardi vice president of procure to pay and energy, and […]

08 / 20 / 19

Brisk Office Sector

Demand for office space remains strong and the supply pipeline shows continuing strength, according to a national office report from Yardi Matrix. Average asking rates increased 1.7% over the six-month period ending in June 2019, matching office-using employment sectors’ year-over-year growth rate that month. The national vacancy rate was 13.5%, 20 basis points below the […]

08 / 13 / 19

Yardi Matrix

Affordable housing advocates hail New York state’s Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 as a life raft for renters in more than 1 million apartments in New York City alone. Other observers, however, regard it as a minefield that will eliminate incentives for building upkeep, remove housing stock from the market, and drive […]

08 / 01 / 19

Affordable housing

Energy Automation

Dallas-based multifamily community manager Pinnacle sought to reduce utility late fees and increase vacant utility cost recoveries at 170,000 residential units that it manages. “We needed to automate the entire process—payables, receivables, consumption data analysis and reporting that drilled down to a granular level of detail,” said Nicole Ellery, the company’s ancillary performance manager. Doing […]

07 / 29 / 19

Energy Suite

Retail Rewards

The sustainability framework that leading retail property owner, operator and developer Macerich operates under calls for eliminating energy waste and nearly eliminating emissions, water waste and landfill impact. Evidence of Macerich’s success in translating these “Innovating to Zero” principles into best practices includes a No. 1 GRESB Benchmark ranking for four years running among North […]

07 / 24 / 19