{"id":7817,"date":"2013-08-16T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-08-16T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=7817"},"modified":"2021-06-23T14:13:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-23T21:13:08","slug":"walt-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/walt-smith\/","title":{"rendered":"Walt Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dallas \u2013 Riverstone Residential <\/a>is no stranger to the ranks of the nation\u2019s largest multifamily management firms. With 174,838 units around the country, the last year and a half has been a period of steady growth for the privately-held company. As the largest 100 pe\"Walt_Smith_CEO_Riverstonercent third-party apartment manager in the U.S., Riverstone\u2019s recent growth is based on the development and expansion decisions of its clients. CEO Walt Smith took the time to tell us about what\u2019s trending from the company\u2019s point of view.<\/p>\n

MHN: It\u2019s been a strong couple of years for the multifamily industry. How has Riverstone expanded as America experiences a renting renaissance?<\/b><\/p>\n

Smith<\/strong>: We\u2019re focused on maximizing as many opportunities as possible, including working on strategies to appeal to members of Gen Y as they form new households, and finding ways to attract Boomer residents as they begin to downsize and realize the benefits of the flexible renter lifestyle. We\u2019ve also dedicated more resources to analyzing local market data for the benefit of our clients. Retaining our current residents is incredibly important, and we\u2019ve been identifying ways to expand our services so that we build value, convenience, and technological innovations to create memorable resident experiences. Finally, we\u2019ve focused on implementing technological platforms to improve our company-wide efficiency and effectiveness as service providers.<\/p>\n

MHN: What have been the most notable aspects of Riverstone growth over the past 18 months?<\/b><\/p>\n

Smith<\/strong>: Although we\u2019ve enjoyed substantial increases in our management contracts across diverse property types and markets nationwide, we\u2019ve definitely observed some specific growth trends in the assets entrusted to our care over the past 18 months. We\u2019ve seen a 60% increase in our management of high-rise assets as well as a 25% increase in lofts. We\u2019ve experienced substantial growth in our Northeast region, where the number of units in our management has grown by over 32%. We\u2019ve also grown in the Northwest region by over 27%, in our South Central region by over 26%, and in Southern California by over 26%. Our presence in our home state of Texas has expanded steadily as well in both the Dallas, Houston and Austin markets. In addition, in the last 18 months we\u2019ve significantly built our management portfolio of apartments for rent in Las Vegas<\/a> and have seen a substantial uptick in Chicago and St. Louis.<\/p>\n

MHN: You\u2019ve been CEO of Riverstone since 2009. What do you consider your most important accomplishment at the company in the last four years?<\/b><\/p>\n

Smith<\/strong>: Riverstone has experienced tremendous growth since 2009, and it\u2019s been our goal to continue to grow steadily while also building a culture with a single mission, vision, and goal that binds us all together. Despite our size and geographic reach, we\u2019ve been successful in creating a common culture that encourages positivity, productivity, collaboration, communication, and innovation. That culture provides a strong foundation for associate growth and satisfaction, and drives us to share and implement ideas that benefit our clients and residents.<\/p>\n

Our culture has inspired us to improve our core product of property management substantially. We\u2019ve renewed our focus on the mastering the basics, and letting our local experts operate our clients\u2019 properties in ways that align with client goals and local market conditions. Our support departments, including marketing, education, client services, and accounting, are stronger than ever, which means that our clients can now draw increased strength from our areas of expertise.<\/p>\n

Our culture emphasizes the importance of maximizing value for our customers, and we\u2019re constantly looking for ways to improve client and resident experiences through our core, ancillary, and client services. We\u2019ve embraced technology to streamline record keeping, improve communication, analyze data to help us better manage and operate our properties, and offer innovations such as an online end-to-end leasing solution. We\u2019re proud to assist clients with networking, due diligence, budgets, and finding deals in the marketplace. These aspects of our service approach are helping to influence clients to rehire us for their new deals. So far this year, 34% of our new management contracts have been from new clients and 66% have been from existing clients. I think that the company culture we\u2019ve been building since 2009 has played a significant role in our success, and I\u2019m excited to see how our culture can continue to deliver results for clients in the coming years.<\/p>\n

MHN: We understand that you have a near-constant travel schedule. What are three things you never leave home without when on the road for business?<\/b><\/p>\n

Smith<\/strong>: There are three things I can\u2019t live without when I\u2019m traveling to meet clients and visit our offices and properties throughout the country:<\/p>\n