Parks Associates: Multifamily properties report positive effect of smart building solutions on ROI

Parks Associates today announced a new white paper, Smart Tech for Multifamily Properties: Understanding ROI, developed in partnership with SKBM SmartTech, with insights from recent interviews with multifamily owners, operators, and property managers on the impact of smart building deployments.

The white paper provides guidance and metrics for properties to deploy smart tech based on returns, savings, and best strategies reported from these interviews. For example, multifamily executives who deploy smart thermostats in common areas of their properties report energy cost savings of 18-20%.

"It can be difficult for companies to determine the best strategies and benchmarks to measure return on investment (ROI) from smart building solutions, so naturally many properties are hesitant to make such large-scale investments," said Kristen Hanich, Research Director, Parks Associates. "Our research and interviews show smart building technologies, when properly deployed and managed, can have significant positive impacts on operations and resident satisfaction, so it is important to take the guesswork and uncertainties out of these deployments."

"As SKBM has been taking a strategic look at the industry, this data is already helping us to better understand our customer needs and curate the right set of tools for the best ROI," said Cris Kimbrough, Chief Strategy Officer, SKBM Smart Technology.

Interviews with multifamily executives highlight multiple benchmarks and additional metrics to measure impact of smart building deployments:

• Smart door locks and access control provide a 20% efficiency boost for maintenance staff by allowing them to enter residential units without needing to pull unit keys.
• Smart thermostat deployments incorporating advanced energy programs such as time-of-use experienced a 20-30% reduction in annual expenses and 20-30% reduction in energy use.
• 39% of MDU (multidwelling unit) residents consider property-provided smart home devices a key differentiator when looking for their next home.

"Ultimately, multifamily owners, operators, and property managers experience the highest returns when the right solution is deployed to the right environment," Hanich said.