Published on
October 15, 2026
Apartments.com
New Year, New Marketing Strategies: What’s Changing for Multifamily
With 2027 around the corner, how should multifamily marketers prepare? Seven key trends will stand out in the year ahead, according to a recent webinar presented by Apartments.com’s Chris Hood, senior director of marketing. From leasing to attribution, Hood highlighted the top changes to expect in the new year, along with strategies to maximize success.
1. Renters will expect a more personalized experience
From Netflix and Spotify to YouTube and TikTok, personalization is the standard customers expect. This same type of customization is coming to the multifamily industry, with renters expecting to receive personalized information on demand.
Within the rental search, that means unit-specific 3D tours available on demand, interactive cost estimators, and conversational search that addresses exactly what individual renters want to know.
“It’s like the renter version of TikTok’s ‘For You’ feed,” Hood said.
2. AI will add to attribution challenges
Multifamily attribution was complex long before AI entered the picture. Typically, prospects use multiple channels to learn about your community before signing a lease. This nonlinear journey might include your Apartments.com listing, Google search results, property website, Instagram account, and a drive through the neighborhood.
When only the last source is tracked, marketers get an incomplete picture of the sources driving discovering and traffic.
Now AI is adding touchpoints that may leave no conventional trail at all. More than 60 percent of Google searches end without a click, Hood said, and referrals from AI chat or AI overviews can leave marketers with no trackable signals.
That makes comprehensive, multitouch attribution models and external validation tools especially important to get the full picture.
3. More technology makes the human connection more important
Even as the rental search process becomes increasingly digital, renters are craving the human element.
“By the time they reach out to you, they’re looking to talk to a real person,” Hood said.
For marketers, this raises the importance of providing human-powered communication channels alongside self-service tools. As multifamily operators gain efficiency through automation and centralization, leasing teams can focus on delivering human credibility.
4. Price transparency is becoming a business advantage
Despite concerns that price transparency will deter renters and drive down revenue, multifamily marketers are starting to realize that the reverse is true.
For example, net operating income at Greystar increased by about $76,000 after the company implemented total pricing, while BH Management reported a monthly average NOI increase of 7.8 percent.
5. The focus is shifting from more leads to better leads
Renters are doing more research before contacting properties, which means the traditional onsite “window shopper” is becoming less common. But instead of disappearing, low-intent leads haven’t disappeared. They’ve moved online.
Hood pointed to practices such as lead shotgunning, where a renter’s inquiry about one property is distributed to other properties. Although this can increase the number of leads each property receives, it ultimately erodes lead quality and reduces conversion.
The distinction between lead volume and lead quality is becoming more important to marketers. High lead-to-lease conversion was the only marketing outcome that increased every year from 2023 through 2026, according to Apartments.com’s annual survey of multifamily advertising decision-makers.
6. Reputation can’t be captured by just a star rating
As online reputation becomes a growing priority, multifamily marketers are expanding their understanding of the term to go beyond reviews and social media and include the full customer experience.
Online ratings are ultimately determined by how prospects and residents feel at your community.
“On the internet, every resident is a potential influencer,” Hood said, highlighting how everyday comments on Google and Reddit can have an outsized impact on a community’s online reputation.
A third of renters rely on word-of-mouth recommendations in their search, Hood said, and online reviews can provide a similar personal endorsement.
7. Missing information could mean missing renters
What renters want to know about a community doesn’t always match what’s available online.
Providing complete property information has always helped renters make decisions. With AI search, it can also affect whether a property gets discovered in the first place.
The gap between what renters want and what listings provide remains significant. Hood noted that only 6 percent of listings have unit photos, although 74 percent of renters want to see them and nearly half consider their absence a deal-breaker.
As renters ask AI increasingly specific questions, properties that provide detailed information improve their chances of being seen and chosen. Those that don’t may be skipped over entirely.
Tips to help you prepare for 2027
Check out these resources to get ready for the year ahead:
