IMN SFR West Conference just wrapped this week. It ran from Monday to Wednesday. Of the sessions I sat in on and the discussions I was having with founders and investors during those three days, there were two topics that just kept getting brought back up.

Build to Rent (BTR) and Property Maintenance.

BTR absolutely DOMINATED the opening session. Many comments were made to suggest BTR is not only the tool to broadly help increase housing affordability, but also the right product to meet what’s most in demand. Evidence of this is the recent slowing of rent rate increases and the continued high-cost of ownership (yes, home values are up year over year—don’t listen to the YouTube doomers).

There could also be one reason the BTR segment is gaining steam, and that’s potential pressure coming from DC. Lawmakers have proposed a bill setting out to regulate or place restrictions on large investors buying and investing in SFRs. That’s not to say BTR would escape the wrath of this bill if it were to go through—but there wasn’t a lot of discussion particularly worried about future legislation.

With the rentals space there’s also a lot of effort being put forth to increase the ease and accuracy of tenant screening. I want to save that topic for another day though, because there’s a lot to consider with the future of tenant screening capabilities.

Property maintenance was by no means a secondary point of discussion. I was able to conduct several interviews with founders on-site who are either working on solving some of the challenges around maintenance or serve a role in maintenance. Companies such as Lula and RentCheck are ones to follow. A notable mention in this space of course is Property Meld (located here in the snowy Black Hills). There are many more, but that’s also a separate article to write in mapping this side of the industry.

If you’re not already, follow Tech Nest on LinkedIn to catch all the video interviews and more bonus content coming out of IMN West.

Next week, I’ll return to our standard marketing focused content in this newsletter.

Proptech News

• EasyKnock Acquires Balance Homes to Bring More Financial Flexibility to Homeowners

• Proptech in 2024: VCs, Principals and Analysts Sound Off

• Inhabit, a Goldman-backed proptech company, is seeking a buyer and may fetch more than $2 billion

• Rent Growth Moderating in Cities Where the Most Apartments Are Being Built

• Simply Homes Secures $22M to Expand US Affordable Housing

• Janover Inc. Launches New AI Capabilities to Further Transform Commercial Real Estate Lending

Weekly Podcast Feature

Is AI Poised to Change Real Estate Investing, with Marc Rutzen, CEO of HelloData.ai

In this episode, Marc Rutzen, CEO of HelloData.ai, talks about revolutionizing real estate investing with AI. We discuss leveraging AI for real-time market analysis and optimizing pricing strategies in multifamily properties, particularly for units under 100. Marc highlights using AI for revenue management, asset optimization, and overcoming industry challenges. This episode offers insights into AI’s potential and limitations in real estate, providing valuable information for investors, property managers, and tech enthusiasts.

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