How will Artificial Intelligence Impact the Multifamily Industry?
Artificial intelligence, A.I.— these terms may sound like something out of an episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone. However, artificial intelligence is a part of our everyday lives. (Think Siri or your Roomba.) Yet, as artificial intelligence continues to evolve, how will this technology impact the multifamily industry from tenant amenities to the way property managers do business?
Smarter Units
Many homes are equipped with artificial intelligence that helps connect their homes to peak connectivity. Imagine a building where all units had built in “Alexa” style connections. Now pair this with smart appliances and things could be done with the sound of a voice, or the wave of a hand. Smart Units can give real estate professionals and landlords a unique selling point, and appeal to Millennial and Gen Z renters, who currently make up the largest demographic of renters in the nation.
Energy Saving Capabilities
Speaking of Millennials and Generation Z, sustainability is a huge trend amongst these age groups, and artificial intelligence can help make multifamily buildings more energy efficient. This can appeal to tenants, as well as landlords as laws require investment properties to be more transparent with their energy usage. Smart thermostats that couple with AI can track activity in a unit and adjust the energy usage according. It can even gauge the building, weather, time and more to efficiently distribute a property’s energy usage.
Building Maintenance
Artificial intelligence can be harnessed and used to make sure a building is running at its maximum efficiency. Imagine AI predicting and analyzing cues to prevent electrical outages, clogs or other maintenance related issues. This allows maintenance teams to work on preventing problems rather than reacting after an issue has occurred. Tenants will avoid disruptions and inconveniences and landlords and investors can avoid costly emergency expenses.
Property Management
Using artificial intelligence, property management can have less chance of human error. There are various apps and services that allow managers to utilize the pinnacle of AI technology to streamline their daily duties. It can also assist property managers in never missing a phone call or running and recording client applications. Apps can be created, customized and linked to tenants smart home technology such as Alexa, Siri or Google Home, so that they can report problems, contact management, pay bills and more. This creates a more positive tenant experience and fewer vacancies due to unhappy tenants moving out.
Apartment Construction
It is possible that artificial intelligence can possibly be involved in the construction of building and renovating multifamily properties. AI has already shown productive in brick-laying, welding, and assembling. Various construction aspects could possibly utilize AI to build, repair or renovate multifamily buildings more quickly and efficiently, and be resistant to human error, weather, and other restrictions.
Of course, we don’t know exactly what the future holds, and artificial intelligence is expanding every day thanks to technology companies and science. We can only begin to implement artificial intelligence options like those listed above, into the multifamily industry and see where that leads on the technological horizon of the future.