Multifamily marketing is dividing into two tiers. Operators with integrated digital programs are outleasing competitors on cost, speed, and quality. Those still relying on a single ILS channel are paying more per lease and falling behind. This report shows the difference in detail.
What You'll Learn:
Where the multifamily market is actually heading in 2026. Supply is normalizing, rent growth is stabilizing, and the cost of a lost lease has never been higher. This section covers what the macro data means for operators making planning decisions right now.
Why most multifamily budget decisions are built on incomplete information. The industry has historically measured marketing performance by lead volume and cost per lead. The operators outperforming their peers are measuring something different, and the results show it.
What the data shows about paid media, concessions, and the rent roll. A concession and a marketing spend can both fill a unit. They do not produce the same financial outcome for ownership. The difference shows up in NOI, cap rate, and asset valuation.
Where AI leasing adoption stands and what the performance gap looks like. Adoption is uneven, and the conversion data between properties using AI and those that aren't is significant. This covers what operators are seeing in practice and where most of the industry still has room to move.
How renter discovery is changing and what it means for visibility More renters are starting their search in AI-powered environments before they ever reach an ILS or a property website. The operators with durable visibility in those environments share specific practices.
ABOUT THE REPORT
This report is built for multifamily executives responsible for driving leasing performance and defending budget decisions to ownership. It draws on a curated collection of current industry research from IBISWorld, SatisFacts, Yardi, Apartments.com, EliseAI, and J. Turner Research, alongside Forthea's own first-party data from 20 years of active campaign management across 600+ properties, with several client relationships spanning more than a decade of continuous leasing data.
