Smart communities are thriving in North America. Not only did the proptech market see a profit of $16.2 B in the region in 2022, the industry has a growth projection rate of 15.7% by 2030.

This type of market growth isn’t just due to investor interest and developer adoption – residents of multi-family buildings are starting to expect smart tech integration.

Smart buildings provide safe, comfortable living spaces while increasing resident retention rates, reducing operating costs, and leading to premium rental and property values. They also offer a significant competitive edge in today’s market amid rising construction costs and growing smart tech adoption.

We look at how proptech helps investors maximize profits while providing tenants a better living experience.

Proptech, or property technology, is a broad term used to explain a variety of tech that improves how people sell, rent, and manage real estate. When talking about multi-residential buildings, proptech’s most common usages include:

• Digital platforms
• Automation tools
• Smart home tech like smart thermostats, digital door locks, and automated flood detectors

SmartONE, for example, offers an integrated solution that connects all residents through one app, includes temperature and emergency alert and monitoring automation, and improves security monitoring and concierge services.

More developers are starting to implement proptech into their buildings in an effort to reduce vacancy rates, decrease operational costs, and attract tenants.

Residents are noticing the proptech boom. Tenants and homeowners are gravitating towards smart homes for a variety of reasons, including:

• Convenient living spaces. This includes smart lighting, automated temperature controls, and seamless smart appliance integration
• Better in-suite security features, including in-suite security monitoring systems that allow residents to check building access, as well as digital door locks and smoke and flood sensors.
• Significant time savings. SmartONE’s Smart Parking feature, for example, recognizes each resident’s license plate and grants access to residents and registered guests without the need to fumble for their keys or fobs.

Not only are people actively looking for smart tech solutions, they’re willing to pay more for it.

According to a recent survey of over 1,500 renters, 82% of participants said they wanted at least one smart device in their rental, and were prepared to pay anywhere from $10-$52 more a month for it.

When asked what smart tech tenants care about the most, respondents listed smart thermostats as the most attractive addition, followed by smart locks and keyless entry systems, smart appliances, and smart lights.

This trend isn’t just limited to renters. A review of smart home consumer trends showed that 3 out of 4 potential homeowners are willing to pay more for smart home tech, and 70% of buyers are actively looking to purchase a smart home.

Managing a multi-family building can lead to significant operating costs and a bloated budget. Property managers are often stuck juggling growing maintenance demands, utility management, and staffing needs. This is made especially complicated by growing inflation, climbing interest rates and a skilled worker shortage driving up labour costs.

By adopting smart building solutions, developers can reduce costs while running a smoother, more efficient building.

Here’s how.

Smart building tech can reduce the number of concierge and security guards needed to properly monitor the area and support tenants. SmartONE, for example, allows for off-site security through the Concierge app, which lets concierge staff remotely keep track of lobby calls, alarms and security issues. Not only can buildings share concierge support through this feature, they can save money on security costs and staffing fees.

Other smart solutions include:

• Smart parcel lockers, which make it easier for staff to manage and secure all packages. Residents are automatically notified when packages arrive, and can access a smart locker with a unique temporary code, reducing workload for concierge
• Smart parking, which reduces the amount of touchpoints a resident needs to have with building staff
• Alarms that can be remotely monitored and include automatic notifications. This allows tenants and staff to keep track of smoke alarms, flood sensors and any entry and motion detectors.

Energy costs account for some of the largest fees associated with building management, which is why many developers are opting to integrate smart building tech into their units. Solutions like smart thermostats and automated temperature controls allow residents to effortlessly lower energy usage, leading to significant savings.

According to a study by Parks Associates, a market research and consulting firm specializing in consumer tech, multifamily buildings that used smart thermostats in common areas said they saw a decrease of energy usage by 20 to 30% each year, leading to an annual energy cost savings of 18 to 20%.

This is especially useful in vacant units, where a rogue maintenance worker can accidentally leave the thermostat or lights on, leading to a spike in energy costs. SmartONE’s solution includes vacant suite tagging, which allows developers and property managers to track energy usage in vacant suites, avoiding high energy bills.

Building maintenance can quickly become overwhelming, especially when something goes wrong. Floods, lost keys, and unexpected power outages can drive up maintenance costs and disrupt daily operations. Smart buildings allow property managers to easily fix and prevent costly issues, including lost keys and lock replacements.

In a typical building, this type of maintenance is often expensive and lengthy. Digital door locks allow for keyless entry and can be opened using smartphones, FOBs or programmable codes, which are cheaper and quicker to reprogram or replace if lost.

According to the study by Park Associates, buildings using smart door locks and access controls saw a 20% boost in maintenance efficiency and 10% fewer maintenance requests, leading to a cost savings of about $80,000 per building per year.

Smart buildings also include flood sensors, which detect any leaks early, immediately alerting residents and management, who can quickly deal with the situation before significant flooding occurs.

Park Associates found that this type of water leak detectors results in around 25% savings for older buildings, with a per-incident savings of anywhere between $12,000 to $35,000.

When it comes to outages, it’s important to look for a solution that’s able to run regardless of internet disruptions or power failures.

SmartONE, for example, uses a hybrid network that doesn’t rely on third-party WiFi. Instead, we use both a local, hardwired network and a cloud-based one, meaning the solution will continue running through an outage.

Smart buildings are becoming a selling point for residents while reducing significant costs for developers and property managers. As proptech continues to increase in market value, more investors and developers are opting in, creating a unique competitive advantage.

As a leader in the smart community space, SmartONE’s solution allows developers to attract residents through better living experiences while lowering energy costs, decreasing staffing and concierge fees, and reducing maintenance needs. Learn more on how we can boost your ROI, by booking a demo.