Introducing AppFolio Realm-X Performers
Property management has been stuck in a state of task-based management for too long — also known as the performance gap. This gap is caused by the combination of external market trends and internal forces that keep you stuck in a reactive mode, preventing teams from focusing on what truly drives business results. When teams are focused on responding to residents, collecting rent, following up on maintenance issues, scheduling and conducting tours, and more, there’s little room to optimize your operations long-term. Simply reacting to every new problem or task also limits their ability to truly assess how your business is performing.
Closing this performance gap requires more than efficiency at completing to-dos; it requires offloading tasks to AI agents who can handle even the most complex workflows end-to-end.
Powered by agentic AI, AppFolio Realm-X Performers take full ownership of leasing, maintenance, and resident communications, freeing teams to work on strategy, elevate resident experiences, and drive real operational performance.
Category: AI
Last modified: October 23, 2025
By: Hayley Odell
Every year, real estate professionals are asked to name their biggest challenge, and the answer remains the same: operational efficiency. In the 2025 Property Management Benchmark Report, 75% of respondents ranked operational efficiency as their top challenge for the fourth year in a row.
At the same time, AI adoption in real estate is accelerating. Between 2024 and 2025, the percentage of operators leveraging AI tools jumped from 21% to 34%. Many teams are already applying AI to improve rent pricing intelligence, streamline work order management, optimize leasing funnels, and strengthen compliance processes. Despite this progress, inefficiency continues to creep in because AI is often used to solve isolated problems rather than applied strategically to your overall business.
The Performance Gap Explained
Focusing solely on efficiency simply isn’t enough. Even with teams working at full capacity, our industry remains stuck in reactive, task-based management — also known as the Performance Gap. This gap exists because of the unique combination of external pressures (think inflation, high-interest rates, rising vacancies, etc.) and internal challenges such as siloed data, fragmented technology, or even new challenges your team faces daily.
While your team is focused on keeping your business running, that doesn’t automatically mean your business is operating at its best. And without the right technology to tackle day-to-day tasks, teams don’t have time to ask themselves crucial questions that could close the performance gap:
The ability to ask (and answer) these types of questions hinges on adopting technology that’s native to your software and can radically change how your team operates without disrupting service.
Generative AI has already shown what’s possible with automation and insights, but it only scratches the surface. To truly close the performance gap, property managers need AI agents that don’t just generate answers but take over tasks entirely, leveraging data from your platform to perform every task intelligently.
The Rise of Agentic AI
It’s important to understand the difference between generative AI and agentic AI. Generative AI can help you draft emails, summarize data, and speed up repetitive tasks to solve many surface-level challenges. While helpful, generative tools repeat, copy and paste, and accelerate what already exists, but it’s not as transformational as it should be. Operational challenges and poor property performance will continue if the underlying workflows are flawed and you’re still working reactively.
Agentic AI is the new way forward. Instead of simply assisting, it thinks and acts independently, taking ownership of entire workflows to achieve your defined goals. It doesn’t just help teams get tasks done quickly and efficiently; it takes consistent action to complete every task, gathering data at every touchpoint to provide clear insights into how it’s performing. This shift is what will finally allow you to escape the state of reactivity and truly unlock real performance.
This is where AppFolio Realm-X Performers come in.
AI That Acts on Your Behalf
Realm-X Performers are AI agents that take action, own outcomes, and drive results. Composed of Realm-X Leasing, Maintenance, and Resident Messenger Performers, think of these capabilities as always-on AI agents who handle the day-to-day tasks that keep your business moving. Instead of chasing down leads, scheduling tours, dispatching maintenance, or fielding the same resident questions, your team can hand those responsibilities off to Realm-X Performers. They work 24/7 to deliver consistent results to ensure the outcomes aren't just tangible — they're transformative.
Other AI tools often require complicated setups, manual integrations, or custom workflows. Realm-X Performers give you the full picture of your business. Built directly into core AppFolio tools — including Leasing CRM, the Maintenance Contact Center, and the resident portal — Performers are able to act across the entire platform.
Equipped with an advanced understanding of your workflows and deriving intelligence from your existing data, Performers take over every task — from responding to leads to managing work orders — updating records and populating reports in real time. The result? You drive real performance outcomes and maintain data integrity, avoiding the silos created by point solutions.
By taking the repetitive, task-based work off your team’s plate, Realm-X Performers free your people to focus on what really matters: delivering seamless resident experiences, making strategic decisions, and driving growth.
The Power of Realm-X Performers
Each Realm-X Performer is purpose-built to manage your operations end-to-end. The impact of Performers is already clear. Maddie Todd, Director of Technology at Real Property Management Express, notes significant results from their use of Performers:
Here’s a closer look at how each Performer drives results across leasing, maintenance, and resident workflows.
Realm-X Leasing Performer
Native to AppFolio, the Leasing Performer has a 360-degree view of your leasing process, transforming the lead-to-lease lifecycle. Designed to take action across the entire leasing process, the Leasing Performer ensures every prospect receives the attention they deserve, responding 24/7 via email, text, or voice; creating detailed guest cards; and offering fast self-scheduling options.
The Leasing Performer handles top-of-funnel lead management with precision, freeing your team to excel at building lasting relationships with residents:
The Realm-X Leasing Performer is available today and ready to take over your lead-to-lease workflow. It will help your team achieve peak leasing performance without missing a single prospect.
“The Leasing Performer is already boosting lead-to-showing conversion rates. We're seeing significant reductions in the time between initial interest and property showings.”
Maddie Todd
Director of Technology
Real Property Management Express
6,000+ Units
Realm-X Maintenance Performer
As the industry’s only agentic AI, the Maintenance Performer was designed to take full ownership of your maintenance operations. It manages everything from work order intake and triage to dispatch and coordination, improving execution as if handled by your best human coordinator.
With the Maintenance Performer, technicians are equipped for success, residents get faster, more personalized support, and your assets are strategically positioned for long-term value:
The Realm-X Maintenance Performer is available today, fully equipped to manage work order intake, triage, dispatch, and coordination so your maintenance operations run smoothly around the clock.
“The Maintenance Performer is removing guesswork for our maintenance team and prioritizing resident requests to work effectively. Preliminary data has shown a significant reduction in average days to complete resident-requested work orders.”
Adam Howerzyl
Owner, COO
Axis Property Holdings & Management, LLC
1,300+ Units
Realm-X Resident Messenger Performer
Ensuring every resident is never left waiting, the Resident Messenger Performer is designed to manage resident communication at scale. By taking ownership of everyday interactions, it keeps residents informed and improves their experience, helping them stay up-to-date on payments, renewals, and lease details with fast, accurate, and consistent responses to all inquiries. When residents truly feel at home, it leads to higher renewal rates and lower delinquencies.
With the Resident Messenger Performer, communication becomes seamless, reliable, and fully managed so residents get the attention they deserve:
The Realm-X Resident Messenger Performer is almost here! Reach out to your AppFolio representative or AppFolio support to join the waitlist, and be one of the first to deliver fast, accurate, and fully automated resident communication.
Stop Chasing Tasks and Start Driving Results
The performance gap exists because real estate professionals are stuck in endless repetitive work, leaving little time for the high-impact initiatives that drive growth, resident satisfaction, and real business outcomes.
From leasing to maintenance and resident communications, Realm-X Performers transform the way your business operates. Sign up now for a free customized demo today and see how Realm-X Performers can remove repetitive tasks, keep teams focused on high-impact work, and elevate the resident experience at every touchpoint.
Key Takeaways
Sign up now for a free customized demo today and see how Realm-X Performers can remove repetitive tasks, keep teams focused on high-impact work, and elevate the resident experience at every touchpoint.