Last modified on July 8th, 2022
By Stacy Holden

The last two years have brought an incredible amount of change to Miami’s rental market. Fueled by an influx of work-from-anywhere pandemic transplants seeking sunshine, demand has skyrocketed and now the market is surging. To give you an idea of just how much demand has increased, median rent in Miami for December 2021 alone was 49.8% higher than the year before and over a dozen new high rises are in development right now to help with demand.

But just because Miami is booming and renters are moving to the area at record pace doesn’t mean that they aren’t demanding. According to our new Miami Resident Motivations research, Miami renters have the highest expectations of their property managers and owners in the nation. Thankfully, keeping residents happy is far easier than it seems.

You can download the full Miami Resident Motivations report now to get even more actionable insights, but here are our top three takeaways.

Takeaway #1: Stay on top of your to-do list

When we surveyed respondents to identify opportunities for their property managers to improve, feedback was loud and clear: Miami residents expect property managers and owners to stay on top of their agreed-upon responsibilities. While this may seem obvious, renter feedback showed this wasn’t always the case: 

“The community was not well maintained. The trash bins were overflowing, the lawns  and shrubs were overgrown, and the entries and hallways in buildings were not cleaned. They gave no rental allowances although all amenities, pools, gyms, tennis courts, and computer rooms were closed.”

Here is the challenge: Staffing communities. Today’s staffing and retention challenges may make it harder to keep up with the stringent expectations of Miami residents. That’s why attracting and retaining on-site staff—and properly training them to take care of the community and its residents’ needs— is more important than ever before.

Takeaway #2: Be empathetic and flexible

We wanted to know what property managers were doing well. Once again, the feedback was clear: Outward displays of empathy, understanding, and flexibility are what Miami residents want most:

“Flexible on forgiving late fees if rent was paid a few days after date specified in lease.”

“Exceeded my expectations by fixing everything in a timely manner whenever it did  break.”

“Just their willingness to assist if needed.”

Much of the feedback received from survey participants centered on how hard COVID-19 has been and how much they appreciated simple yet kind gestures from property managers and landlords. Those gestures included everything from waiving late payment fees, giving small rent extensions, and just being personable. But, ultimately, our survey results show that Miami residents take note when their property management companies treat them like real people, and not “just renters.”

Takeaway #3: Make responsiveness a priority

Above all else, Miami residents said they put responsiveness at the top of their property manager and landlord wishlist. Just look at what they said has become more important since the pandemic began:

• 59% of Miami residents said their property manager promptly resolving maintenance issues was more important than before
• 61% said their property managers response time to questions or concerns was more important
• 62% said property managers proactively communicating time-sensitive updates about rental unit or community was more important now

Property management can’t always be everywhere all the time, but Miami residents want 24/7 responsiveness. Because manual responses to every email, text, and call are now too slow for residents, having tools in place to communicate quickly and effectively is no longer optional — they’re must-haves. In fact, 52% of respondents said having digital tools to manage their rental has also become more important since the pandemic began.

Get even more insights from Miami residents

These are just three key takeaways from our Miami Resident Motivations report, but they’re also what Miami residents said were the most essential to their property management satisfaction, too.

Download the full Miami Resident Motivations report for even more actionable insights to help your multifamily housing business stay on top of the metro’s changing preferences and shifting dynamics.

And for property managers and owners looking to exceed Miami metro renter expectations, AppFolio can help improve responsiveness by automating communication, tracking maintenance requests to ensure they’re completed in a timely manner, providing mobile tools residents want, and so much more. We’d be happy to provide a customized demo whenever you like.

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