Centralize Teams and Scale Efficiently With Leasing CRM

Today’s renters demand fast, flexible, and personalized leasing experiences, with seamless options to book tours and apply on their own time. Yet employee shortages and overwhelmed front offices make delivering this level of service at scale nearly impossible.

With construction surging in major metros such as Austin, San Antonio, Denver, Phoenix, Nashville, and Raleigh, increased supply is driving more competition. While rent rates have decreased, vacancies rose to 7.1% nationally in the first quarter of 2025, their highest level since 2010. 

Meanwhile, the rise of build-to-rent (BTR) communities is increasing competition for existing single-family rental operators, prompting many to expand or diversify their portfolios. Over 110,000 single-family rentals are currently under construction across the United States, representing a 53.5% increase in BTR inventory, especially in cities such as Phoenix, Atlanta, and Dallas. These communities often benefit from centralized operations enhanced by advanced technology, allowing them to deliver a smoother, more connected experience for residents. These are capabilities that scattered-site operators must quickly adopt to scale and stay competitive. 

With rising operating costs, slower rent growth, and so much competition, property managers are under pressure to fill vacancies faster and run leaner teams. So how do you stay ahead when margins are tight, resources are stretched, and your leasing goals are more aggressive than ever?

The Most Agile Leasing Teams Are Mobile

Centralization isn’t just about consolidating teams — it’s about creating a more agile, flexible leasing model that helps you respond to and meet the demands of today’s market.

In a centralized or mobile leasing model, agents aren’t tied to one property or location. Instead, agents can be deployed or assigned to multiple properties when and where they’re most needed, such as to support high-vacancy assets, lease-ups, or seasonal spikes. For scattered-site single-family operators, mobile leasing teams are often a necessity, which means the technology used to support these agents has to be mobile-friendly, flexible, and easy to use.

A centralized approach, supported by advanced solutions such as a Leasing CRM, unlocks a range of advantages:

• Leasing teams don’t run out of units to sell or homes to fill. Instead, they’re entirely focused on meeting renter demand and cross-selling to boost occupancy.

• Inquiries are managed by the first available and most qualified team member (regardless of location).

• You can reduce full-time staffing costs by aligning team size with demand, not unit count.

• Centralized systems simplify onboarding and training, helping you retain top talent.

And for your residents, the experience is faster and tailored just to them. Today’s renters want flexibility, speed, and convenience without having to walk into a leasing office. They can tour multiple units on their schedule, communicate with your team quickly via text and email, and get the information they need fast and without the friction of outdated processes.

Does your current leasing model support this kind of agility, or is outdated technology slowing you down?

Turn Strategy Into Action With Leasing CRM

To make centralized leasing work at scale, you need more than just a new staffing model — you need automation and a unifying platform built to support it. The Leasing CRM for centralized teams brings structure, visibility, and speed to your leasing workflows so your team can stay aligned and future residents don’t fall through the cracks. 

With AppFolio Leasing CRM in place, leasing teams can be grouped strategically across properties and assigned guest cards as residents inquire. All guest cards are organized in list order and prioritized by what needs to be done first. Agents can view new inquiries first, followed by any overdue ones, with all properties of interest conveniently organized under the residents’ names.

If a prospective resident inquires about a unit, whether by filling out a form or calling a single property, a mobile agent can seamlessly offer options across your portfolio. Every interaction is recorded on the guest card, providing clear visibility into the full resident journey from first inquiry to signed lease. 

Here’s how your mobile leasing team stays in sync with Leasing CRM:

• Stay connected from first touch to tour. AppFolio Leasing CRM keeps everything — from first touch to signed lease — organized in a single guest card.
  

• Communicate about all properties in one unified inbox. All communications are routed through a single phone number and shared inbox so your team stays in sync and prospects can explore multiple properties in one seamless conversation. There’s no need to start over with each new building or agent. Every text, email, and call is tracked in the same thread, making it easy to follow up, cross-sell, schedule tours, and share images or videos. Templated responses help you reply quickly, while real-time alerts keep you informed of resident activity as it happens.
  

• Automate and speed up responses with AppFolio Realm-X. Leasing CRM also enables your team to respond to prospects instantly and consistently (even when they’re juggling other tasks). Realm-X Assistant is integrated with your unified inbox and suggests responses to speed up conversation, reducing back and forth. Agents can book more tours across properties with ease, while real-time calendar updates keep everyone in sync.

• Simplify cross-selling with all data in one place. With your property data stored in AppFolio and a fully integrated leasing CRM, you can easily match renters with units that fit their preferences across multiple locations. Then, schedule several tours in a day to find the right fit faster and close with ease.

Leasing Moves Fast, and Your Tech Should Set the Pace

Designed specifically for centralized teams of all sizes, AppFolio Leasing CRM eliminates the hassle of juggling disconnected tools or duplicate guest cards. Your team can focus on what matters: the resident experience, both in-person and virtually.

Whether your leasing teams are mobile or you’re planning to centralize to scale in the future, AppFolio Leasing CRM is built to grow with you. Sign up now for a free customized demo and see how AppFolio Leasing CRM can help you scale smarter and rethink how you lease.