The Lease-Up

Multi-Housing News
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Business News
  • Updated Weekly

The Lease-Up is a multi-series podcast channel by Multi-Housing News that explores issues and trends within the multifamily housing industry. Find out more at our website: www.multihousingnews.com.

  1. NAA Insights: Today’s Policy Watchlist for Rental Housing

    1d ago

    NAA Insights: Today’s Policy Watchlist for Rental Housing

    Federal housing policy is constantly shifting, making it challenging for multifamily owners, operators and property managers to keep up with every proposal, rule change and court-tested uncertainty. Multi-Housing News Executive Editor Laura Valean reached out to Nicole Upano, assistant vice president of Housing Policy & Regulatory Affairs at the National Apartment Association, for a timely regulatory roundup on the federal actions multifamily professionals should have on their radar.

    19 min
  2. Tech Pulse: AI in Multifamily Construction

    2d ago

    Tech Pulse: AI in Multifamily Construction

    AI is shaking up many aspects of the multifamily industry, from marketing to leasing to operations, but one aspect that’s less discussed is how the tech can be applied to apartment building construction. To learn more about how AI has already been deployed in multifamily projects, along with what the future potential is, MHN Associate Editor Matthew Kaufman turned to James Garner, a member of the Construction Professional Group Panel at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, or RICS. He’s also the Head of AI and Data at Gleeds. Here are some highlights from their discussion: (1:17) AI’s early construction impact(4:36) Today’s biggest AI wins(7:00) Keeping humans accountable(8:38) Making data AI-ready(11:47) Culture over cost(13:14) Four AI mindsets(16:25) AI meets robotics(23:30) Investor and insurer reactions(27:35) Responsible AI standards

    38 min
  3. Mission Success: The Grit Behind Lissette Calderon’s Miami Vision

    Jun 18

    Mission Success: The Grit Behind Lissette Calderon’s Miami Vision

    This month, Mission Success: Women in Multifamily Host Laura Valean sits down with Lissette Calderon, founder & CEO of Neology Group, and one of the few women leading large-scale residential development in South Florida. Calderon reflects on leaving investment banking, a decision that once felt like failure but ultimately became the first time she truly trusted herself. She also revisits the risk of launching her first project, Neo Lofts, at 28, the fear of losing her lender after 9/11 and the conviction behind her long-term bets on the Miami River and Allapattah neighborhoods in Miami. Beyond the buildings, Calderon speaks candidly about the responsibility developers carry toward residents, investors, teams and communities. She also talks about being a woman in real estate, why ambition should never be downplayed, and how much her late father has influenced everything she has achieved.

    32 min
  4. Student Housing Unlocked: Inside Subtext’s Award-Winning Social Media Strategy

    May 25

    Student Housing Unlocked: Inside Subtext’s Award-Winning Social Media Strategy

    For the current and next generation of students, showcasing a polished lifestyle across a property’s social media channels is no longer enough. Since social platforms are often where prospects first discover student housing communities, the most effective campaigns are the ones that make students feel like they already understand what it would be like to live there before they even schedule a tour.In this episode of Student Housing Unlocked, MHN’s Senior Associate Editor Olivia Bunescu is joined by Maggie St. Geme, vice president of marketing at Subtext Living, to discuss what it takes to build a social media strategy that feels authentic and resident-first. St. Geme breaks down how Subtext turns brand identity into content across its Local, Verve and Ever communities, while keeping each property’s voice connected to its residents, neighborhood and on-site team.The conversation also highlights the approach behind LOCAL Nashville’s Silver-winning social media strategy at last year’s MHN Excellence Awards. Rather than making the property the main character, the campaign leaned into Nashville, the Midtown neighborhood and the residents, turning them into the main characters of the community, instead of amenities. From hyperlocal storytelling and short-form video to curated giveaways, St. Geme explains why social media now plays a role across every stage of the leasing process. Here’s what they talked about: Defining success in social media (01:36)Building trust with renters (02:37)Creating an authentic brand voice (04:12)Subtext’s three content filters (05:44)Turning brand identity into content (07:46)Creating a viral reel (08:50)LOCAL Nashville’s award-winning strategy (11:25)Balancing polished and organic content (15:00)The power of short-form video (16:47)On-site teams as content engines (17:50)Applying lessons across the portfolio (19:22)Measuring social media’s success (20:51)Trends that will shape student housing marketing (22:58)

    26 min
  5. Mission Success: The Courage to Pivot

    May 21

    Mission Success: The Courage to Pivot

    Kerry Fedigan’s story begins far from real estate, in the halls of Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and later in her own thriving speech pathology practice. But life, as she shares with striking honesty in this podcast, rarely follows a straight line. A deeply personal family challenge prompted her to step away from her business. What followed wasn’t a calculated pivot, but an unexpected opening into real estate that would ultimately redefine her career. In this episode of Mission Success: Women in Multifamily, Multi-Housing News Executive Editor Laura Valean sits down with Fedigan, now director of sales at Sun Homes. She leads sales at One Kingsland, a townhouse-condominium community within Sleepy Hollow’s Edge-on-Hudson, where her relationship-first approach has translated into strong momentum. Fedigan reflects on a reality that will feel deeply familiar across the multifamily and real estate industry in general: the constant tension between professional ambition and being present for the moments that matter most at home. There’s no perfect balance, she admits, only choices, trade-offs and the quiet determination to show up where it counts. That mindset continues to shape how she leads today.

    33 min
  6. Management Diaries: What’s New at Apartmentalize 2026

    May 18

    Management Diaries: What’s New at Apartmentalize 2026

    Elizabeth Ambacher, NAA's vice president of meetings and expositions, and Clark Ebbert, director of conference education discuss what’s on the agenda this year and what it says about the evolution of apartment operations. This year’s educational programming, shaped by direct input from NAA’s advisory board, reflects the challenges operators are facing right now. AI remains a major focus, but the conversation has evolved from “What is AI?” to proving ROI and scaling adoption. Listeners can save $150 on registration with promo code "MHNPODCAST" through May 26. Here are a few highlights from this episode: (3:19) Why centralization and automation haven't delivered as cleanly as operators expected (4:20) Doing more with less is the No. 1 challenge members bring to NAA (9:21) The shift from fixing things faster to building systems that break less (12:31) Why "we want less" is really code for "we're overwhelmed by options" (15:55) Three keynote speakers bringing perspectives from outside the industry

    21 min
  7. Top Marketers: What Large Portfolios Know About Renter Behavior

    May 13

    Top Marketers: What Large Portfolios Know About Renter Behavior

    As multifamily operators navigate shifting renter expectations, rising competition and rapid technological change, large portfolios are uncovering behavioral patterns and operational insights into renter behavior that smaller firms may not yet see. At scale, data becomes more than a performance metric; It becomes a window into how renters think, search, compare and ultimately decide where to live. From digital trust and pricing sensitivity to tour behavior and response times, today’s renter journey is becoming increasingly nuanced. Operators are no longer competing solely on amenities or location. They are competing on speed, transparency, convenience and authenticity across every touchpoint. What’s emerging is a broader shift in multifamily marketing: the convergence of marketing, centralized operations, customer experience and technology. The operators best positioned for the future are those learning how to connect these functions into a seamless renter journey, while still maintaining a local, human touch. This episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast explores what large-scale multifamily platforms are learning about renter behavior and how those insights may shape the next phase of leasing, marketing and resident engagement. Joining us is Josh Draughn, senior vice president of marketing and centralized operations at Hillpointe. A recent hire at Hillpointe, Draughn brings nearly two decades of experience spanning multifamily marketing, centralized operations and technology strategy. Before joining Hillpointe, he held leadership roles at Greystar, Cortland and Weidner Apartment Homes, where he helped oversee large-scale marketing initiatives and operational systems across tens of thousands of units. Throughout the conversation, Draughn discusses how renter behavior has evolved over the past two decades, why authenticity now outweighs overly polished branding, how AI and centralized operations are reshaping leasing strategies and what operators can learn from analyzing millions of renter interactions. Key topics include how data-driven marketing, renter trust and centralized operations can better interpret renter behavior at scale, transform multifamily leasing in an era where authenticity beats polish. From Indiana Jones to Multifamily Marketing (4:31)What Renters Really Think at Scale (9:09)The Laughter Stat: 1.6M Calls Analyzed (11:00)Why Polished Marketing Backfires (20:43)Reddit, Speed & the Modern Renter Journey (19:00)Tech, Trust & the Future of Leasing (22:28)

    33 min
  8. Management Diaries: 3 Questions Multifamily Operators Should Ask Before Automating

    Apr 28

    Management Diaries: 3 Questions Multifamily Operators Should Ask Before Automating

    Arqline Property Management was formed in 2026, after residential technology platform Alfred acquired and merged RKW Residential and A Residential (formerly Quarterra Living). For this episode of Management Diaries, Arqline President Kevin Owens shares how the firms navigated the integration, and why aligning people and processes turned out to be harder than aligning the tech. He discusses the three-part framework his company uses to decide what can be automated, what to centralize and what should stay with a human. Owens prefers simplicity over complex tools or systems. As he puts it, “Things can sound really smart when they're complex. They also aren't very easy to execute." Here are a few highlights from this episode: (5:18) Why cultural alignment was a critical part of the merger(11:37) How structured feedback loops drive better outcomes(13:29) Why following through matters more than the feedback itself(20:22) What operators need to pay attention to moving forward(17:45) What “Property Management 3.0” looks like and what it means for operators

    20 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

The Lease-Up is a multi-series podcast channel by Multi-Housing News that explores issues and trends within the multifamily housing industry. Find out more at our website: www.multihousingnews.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Multi-Housing News
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    187
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Multi-Housing News
  • Show Website
    The Lease-Up

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