The Role of Data Analytics in Optimizing Property Management Strategies

As technology expands, game-changing benefits are being unlocked for property management businesses. Smart home technology, AI, maintenance management, and automated rent collection are all areas that can be streamlined to improve operations and tenant experience. One advancement that should not be missed is the utilization of data analytics.  

Understanding Data Analytics

How do you make choices about the future of your properties? For all too many property managers, the answer to this question involves a significant amount of intuition and guesswork. However, whether you track them or not, your business generates numbers that explain many aspects of its performance and marketing dynamics. 

If your decisions aren’t grounded on hard metrics, you could easily miss out on the key trends and patterns they reveal—and your competition is already looking for them. 

Property managers can avoid this situation by establishing a data analytics strategy, and the good news is that a great property management platform will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. By leveraging the insights they deliver intentionally and automatically, you’ll have no trouble making informed choices that give your business an edge. 

How Can Data Analytics Assist Property Managers?

Property managers are often tasked with making choices that affect residents and the business on a wide range of issues. By analyzing the numbers, you can equip them with a framework they can use to support the business confidently. 

With the right tools for data analytics, property managers can have an easier time:

Understanding Tenant Behavior

If your tenants aren’t satisfied with your properties, they might start looking for other housing options and spreading the word online. Data analytics can help you understand trends related to tenant preferences, lease renewals, and tenant satisfaction rates. Once you’re armed with that info, you can establish priorities and make sound investments that reflect their desires. 

Optimizing Occupancy Rates and Rental Prices

Property pricing doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Instead, you’ll need to consider factors like market demand, amenities, and regional trends while setting rates for your properties.

Property management software that integrates with software like RentCast allows you to get the research you need to accurately evaluate fair market value. If you’re managing an affordable property, having property management software that integrates with HUD’s Fair Market Rents can help you identify an ideal market price. Either way, a PMS with these integration capabilities offers powerful advantages for users that reduce vacancy rates and optimize profits.

Forecasting Maintenance and Managing Costs

Data analytics software can also allow you to rethink your property maintenance strategy. “Predictive maintenance” focuses on analyzing past maintenance requests to anticipate the repairs you’ll need to make in the future. By following this strategy for property upkeep, you can complete this work before any underlying maintenance issues get out of hand.

Predictive maintenance gives you the power to reduce unexpected maintenance expenses and manage your budget as effectively as possible. You can also use data analytics to determine when to schedule maintenance services, increasing tenant satisfaction.

Improving Operational Efficiency

While optimizing life for your residents is an ongoing process, data analytics can also help you streamline your internal operations. For instance, errors and poorly designed property management platforms can cost your team hours finding and fixing problems, and dollars can easily slip through the cracks. 

These metrics speak directly to your business’s overall health and are a key area where data analytics can help save your business money.

Measuring Property Performance

With KPIs like net operating income and lease turnovers, you’ll find it easy to gauge the performance of your properties down to anthe individual unit. This information can also help you take steps to improve each property and tailor your lead process to find the best fit.

How to Find Software for Data Analytics

It should be no surprise that manually tracking and analyzing data isn’t easy. Fortunately, you can rely on data analytics software to take care of this work for you—but you’ll need to do some research before investing in one of these programs.

Your property management program of choice should deliver features like:

• Real-time data capabilities. Analyzing this information will be a breeze if your property management software can present up-to-date data in easy-to-read reports.
• Data access across multiple devices. Your property management program should allow you to access crucial information on computers and mobile devices alike.
• Customizable permissions. Well-designed property management software will be able to set user permissions based on roles and send automated daily reports to the owners and leadership teams in your organization, giving them the details they need in one place.
• Additional features. Instead of focusing solely on data analysis, a top-notch property management program can do everything from managing work orders to streamlining tenant screening.

Adding Data Analytics to Your Workflow

While data analytics brings all sorts of benefits, reorienting your workflow around data can be intimidating. If you want data to play a more significant role in your organization’s daily operations, start by:

Finding Statistics That Matter

Today’s best property management programs will give you instant access to massive data. Instead of trying to analyze every statistic and report your software has to offer, start by focusing on the essentials. For example, you could get familiar with maintenance forecasts and occupancy rates before moving on to other data points.

Regularly Reviewing Data

The top property management platforms constantly update data, ideally in real-time. A full review of your numbers is typically a monthly task, and there are some key figures you can review daily or weekly. Depending on your business priorities, set a schedule and incorporate it into your regular workflow. 

Training Your Employees

No matter how powerful your property management software is, it won’t improve your organization if your workers don’t know how to use it. Finding a platform that is intuitive and easy to use with great customer support can save your business money and headaches from the front desk to the back office. 

Explore the Benefits of Data Analytics Software

Businesses rely more heavily on data for decision-making, and property management is no exception. The top firms are already embracing robust data analytics strategies, and the digital systems you choose directly impact your ability to stay ahead of the curve. The right tools can deliver a significant ROI by revealing valuable competitive advantages and streamlining operations—but the wrong one can weigh down your business and drain its resources. 

Watching data analytics software in action is the best way to understand how one of these programs can better transform your property management business. Take the first step by scheduling a walkthrough of ExactEstate’s powerful, affordable property management solution, and discover what an ideal data analytics platform can do for your business.