2024 marked a 'return to normal' for the multifamily industry. Rent prices increased by 1%, retention rates were above average, a record number of new units were added, and demand remained high due to rising home costs.
However, early indications suggest that 2025 will bring new challenges, especially for apartment marketers. With economic factors shifting and renter preferences evolving, staying ahead will require a renewed focus on the fundamentals that truly drive leasing performance.
Let's explore three key challenges marketers will face in the coming year and explain why getting back to the basics will be critical for success.
Challenge #1: Unit Supply Will Be Limited
Multifamily economist Jay Parsons emphasizes a key trend for 2025: the gap between unit completions and starts.
By September 2024, there were more than 193,900 unit completions than starts—
a difference that hasn't been seen since the mid-1970s. (c/o Jay Parsons)
What Does This Mean?
By late 2025, demand is expected to outpace supply, leaving communities struggling to stand out and fill vacancies. That’s why how your communities perform this year will matter more than ever.
Don’t Chase Trends—Master the Basics
With so many platforms and technologies emerging—particularly in AI—it’s tempting to chase every new marketing trend. While these tools can simplify apartment marketing, they won’t solve foundational gaps in your strategy.
Ask Yourself: Are You Missing the Basics?
- Advertising on TikTok may be trendy, but do your communities offer the basics renters need, like walkthrough videos for floorplans or units?
- Rebranding your community is great for perception, but what good is it if renters can’t even schedule a tour on your website?
- Adding an AI chatbot could help your lead count, but are your marketing and leasing teams aligned?
Lisa Trosien's mystery apartment shopping experience revealed common issues with touring, follow-ups, and basic human interactions. These problems persist because fundamentals are overlooked.
Double Down on the Essentials
The key to success in 2025 is to focus on developing qualified leads.
- That means guiding high-intent renters to a community website that converts.
- Ensure those visitors can view detailed floorplan/unit content and schedule tours easily online.
The more qualified leads you generate, the better your communities will be positioned to adapt to supply and demand shifts later in the year.
Challenge #2: So Much Work, So Little Time
Many apartment marketers face a familiar challenge: big goals but limited time and resources to achieve them. While this isn’t new to the industry, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to manage—and the strain is impacting leasing performance.
3 Ways This Challenge Plays Out
1. It's Tougher Staying on Top of Every Community’s Needs
- Shrinking marketing teams and resources makes monitoring and adjusting performance across multiple communities harder.
- Marketers managing properties across states and metros spend more time on calls to understand what’s happening on-site.
- The result? Most marketing decisions are reactive, made after lead counts or occupancy changes. Reactive marketing isn’t sustainable in a constantly shifting industry.
2. Managing Digital Advertising In-House
- In-house management of PPC campaigns is one of the biggest drains on marketers’ time.
- Many teams report steep learning curves and poor results from managing ads without prior experience.
3. Overcomplicated Marketing Tech Stacks
- Adding new tools and vendors often leads to inefficiencies instead of solving problems.
- A bloated tech stack creates more complexity and costs without streamlining workflows.
- Multifamily marketing expert Mike Whaling expressed this problem to Janet Rosseth on her podcast Optimized!: “A lot of the complexity is almost self-created. You launch (a new tool), and you go, 'Oh, but it doesn't do this thing.' So I have to go over here, and plug in this other vendor, but nine months later, this other vendor over here launches the same feature and you don't know about it," Whaling said. "One, that means you're probably overcomplicating things and, two, you're paying double or triple in some cases."
Marketing teams are stretched thin, and reactive strategies or overcomplicated tech stacks only worsen the situation. Simplifying workflows, automating time-intensive tasks, and focusing on proactiveness will help multifamily marketers stay ahead.
Challenge #3: Casting Too Wide of a Marketing Net
Many apartment marketers still take a blanket approach to reaching all in-market renters rather than focusing on high-intent prospects—those actively looking for one of their communities. This broad strategy often wastes budgets and lowers conversions.
3 Common Mistakes in Casting Too Wide of a Net
1. Relying on Expensive ILS Listings
- ILS platforms help create general awareness but struggle to highlight what makes your community unique.
- Renters often can’t distinguish your community from competitors, lowering their intent to lease.
2. Targeting Broad, Competitive Keywords
- PPC is a powerful tool for targeting qualified renters, but many campaigns rely on broad keywords that are highly competitive and costly, often delivering low ROI.
- Want Better Results? Focus on specific, relevant keywords directly related to your community’s unique features and location. Here's how to find the best keywords for your apartments.
3. Using Vague, Generic Website Messaging
- Today, renters value authenticity and specificity but often encounter vague website messages saying, "Live Life to the Fullest."
- Unrealistic or unclear messaging fails to resonate with prospects, making your community less memorable.
- What Works? Authentic messaging based on what renters prioritize, along with thorough and easy-to-understand floorplan and amenity details.
The Bottom Line
To attract high-intent prospects and improve conversions:
- Audit your marketing sources to prioritize those that drive leases.
- Focus ad budgets on specific keywords and campaigns with a proven track record.
- Ensure your messaging and website content are authentic, clear, and tailored to what renters are looking for.
Conclusion
This year, marketers must adapt to a tighter supply, increased workloads, and a shift toward high-intent targeting. Don’t chase trends at the expense of what works. Instead, prioritize tools that simplify (not complicate) workflows, free up time to focus on the basics, and enable proactive decisions that drive measurable results for each community. In 2025, focusing on these fundamentals isn’t just a strategy—it’s a necessity for success.