RCKRBX™, the first SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) platform for multifamily real estate to deliver demand-side, voice-of-the-customer (VOC) data-based on comprehensive responses from thousands of current and prospective renters within specific markets, announced today its entry into multiple Texas Central Business Districts, including Dallas Fort-Worth and Houston. RCKRBX has also welcomed JPI, a leader in the development of Class A multifamily communities, as its inaugural subscriber in the market. Deployment into Texas marks a significant growth milestone for the Company, as it represents the first of several planned market expansions for RCKRBX following its January 2023 successful launch in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“Given the multitude of promising real estate opportunities in Texas and potential applications of our platform thereto, we are thrilled to announce RCKRBX’s expansion into the State and welcome JPI as a first market subscriber,” said Michael Broder, CEO of RCKRBX. “JPI is one of the largest, most prolific, and forward-thinking multifamily developers in Texas, and we’re excited to help enhance their land acquisition and development decision-making through our demand-side data insights.”
Using the RCKRBX platform, subscribers can now quantify and understand what renters want, think, and see in real-time, forecast how preference-based decision drivers will impact market demand, lease-up, and premiums of a potential project, and optimize programming to mitigate investment risk, deliver greater net-operating-income, enhance competitive performance, and maximize liquidity and returns.
“At JPI, we are always looking for innovative solutions to enhance the performance of our communities, lives of our residents, and returns to our partners,” said Mollie Fadule, chief financial and investment officer at JPI. “As a RCKRBX subscriber, we gain access to extensive data that empowers us to closely examine the priorities of potential residents and create communities that cater to their preferences and demand drivers.”
The power of the platform comes from real-time human insights and their connections to familiar real estate market metrics and supply-side data, making it possible to paint far more holistic, accurate, and predictive pictures of a project’s future, the populations who will live there, and the premiums they will pay, for what and why. Through RCKRBX’s platform, subscribers can drill down to the nuances of renter preferences. Specifically, in Dallas-Fort Worth, RCKRBX found:
- Prospective renters say the economy is heading down the wrong track (41% vs. 21% right direction), when asked how those conditions have affected their rent budget, 4-in-10 respondents say they’ve increased their rent budgets for their future residences. This signals resilience in the sector as respondents look to delay a home purchase due to economic conditions yet, and don’t yet wish to settle.
- Within the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area, renter demand for larger units (i.e. 1 bedrooms + den; 2 bedrooms; 3 bedrooms) significantly outpaces market appetite for smaller configurations (i.e. studios/junior 1 bedrooms and 1 bedrooms). When asked what unit type/configuration renters would be looking for in their next apartment, overall market demand by unit type was as follows:
- Studio/Junior 1 bedroom: 2%
- 1 bedroom: 18%
- 1 bedroom + den/junior 2 bedroom: 19%
- 2 bedroom: 34%
- 3 bedroom: 26%
- Similar to other markets, safety and security is a prime driver of where to rent, with 41% saying it’s their 1st or 2nd most important issue, second only to rent and monthly fees (45%). Owners/operators that emphasize favorable locational attributes and feature strong security policies, controls/systems and on-site team training can capitalize on a top-of-mind renter issue.
- Though the “essentials” like transportation/parking amenities and fitness/wellness rank highly, in a post-COVID and heavy work-from-home environment, “outdoor living amenities” actually tie them, driven by physical features like pool cabanas, fire pits and sun decks with social, fitness and relaxation spaces. Dallas-Fort Worth renters are looking to outdoor activations that build community and expand the four walls of their apartment residence.
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Powering the platform is a proprietary database of renter polling data and associated variables combined with contextual market information and supply-side data. Survey datasets are updated quarterly to align with US Census demographics at the neighborhood level and include statistically powered, representative samples from statewide to sub-market/zip code levels for all covered geographies. RCKRBX utilizes quantitative research industry standards and best practices for survey design, sample recruitment, response and data quality control, and privacy protection.
RCKRBX was founded by Broder, James Moore, and Kevin Hudak, the principals of Brightline Strategies, a leading research and advisory services firm, to address the growing evidence gap in the high-stakes business of real estate investment, development, marketing, and management. The company’s data models, predictive analytics, and micro-targeting capabilities were born from the science and discipline of political campaign research—the legacy of the company’s founders—and based on more than 15 years of fielding bespoke studies for the commercial office and multifamily sectors.
