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Rental marketplace Apartment List is launching an artificial intelligence-fueled leasing agent, Lea Pro, in a bid to automate the earliest stages of tenant acquisition — at no cost to customers, according to an announcement Tuesday.
Lea Pro serves as a sales agent for prospective tenants while assisting with tour scheduling and information on lease terms, amenities and availability, among other services. It operates in web-based chat, text, email and over the phone.
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“Our partners are overwhelmed trying to provide timely responses to the modern renter while managing an onslaught of leads,” Apartment List CEO Matthew Woods said in a statement. “For property managers, this presents a groundbreaking opportunity to consistently nurture leads while also providing an exceptional renter experience.”
Beta-testing has shown a significant productivity boost, namely a 42 percent increase in weekly time saved per leasing agent — per property — and a 68 percent jump in lead-to-tour conversion, according to the announcement. The intent of the bot, which is also fluent in Spanish, is to allow leasing agents and landlords to work more efficiently to generate new business, allowing speed without additional personnel, among other benefits.
The rental market is busy. Housing remains a challenge for countless buyers and more people are renewing leases as interest rates and low inventory holds back would-be buyers.
Fewer landlords are raising rent in 2024, Inman reported in February. However, a Realtor.com survey revealed the break in rent hikes won’t provide enough financial leeway for renters to make the transition to homeownership.
Among the 60 percent who told Realtor.com they plan to raise rents, the majority (69 percent) said they raise rents differently for new and existing tenants, with new tenants facing increases of up to 10 percent and existing tenants facing increases of up to five percent. The remaining 31 percent of landlords said they don’t differentiate between new and existing tenants, with half saying they plan to raise rents between zero and 5 percent for all tenants.
Communicating rent increases and maintaining the relationships while doing so is what an AI like Lea Pro can assist with. Consistent communication, fast responses to questions and a constant thread of outreach goes a long way toward earning renewals.
Lea Pro is not the first AI to be rolled out by a rental industry technology provider. Colleen, an artificial intelligence solution for the property management space, is expanding its capabilities to assist in the collection of past-due rent and fees. HappyCo announced its property management AI entity in early April, as did RealPage, and Zumper has been using AI to automate components of its clients’ business since 2021.
