Low housing supply is pushing rent prices up, with the biggest increase in Perth according to MRI Software.
The Announcement:
Rental Management Australia (RMA) has now implemented AI-led PropTech from MRI Software to digitise many of its property management services and improve efficiencies. The largest residential asset manager in Western Australia, with offices also in Victoria and Queensland, RMA is rolling out MRI PropertyTree and MRI Maintenance Plus to keep ahead of record demand for rental properties.
RMA went live on PropertyTree and Maintenance Plus nationally from 1 September 2021 with all 80 RMA staff now trained and actively working in the platform to process and manage all financial transactions and invoicing, lease renewals and rent reviews, and connect tenant requests for maintenance with local contractors, among other things. The mobile-based MRI PropTech platform is being introduced to landlords, owners and contractors as part of a phase two roll-out later this year or early next.
Transferring many thousands of property and tenancy records and associated financial data “securely and smoothly” into the cloud-based MRI platform was a top priority for RMA’s Chief Financial Officer, Chris Weise.
“More than 30 percent of our tenants are under 30. They’ve grown up with technology, where many landlords are older and less digitally dependent or proficient and prefer to pick up the phone and have a conversation. So, with our industry-best people, and now the best PropTech from MRI, RMA can continue providing the best residential asset management services well into the future via whatever medium suits our clients’ best.
“The fact MRI is a global leader in real estate software with all the governance and experience that comes with that gave us 100% confidence trusting them with managing our data transfer securely from a previous software provider. It was done seamlessly,” Weisesaid.
Andrew Graham, CEO for Rental Management Australia said: “At RMA our sole focus is on property management for which we’ve been entrusted with over $4 billion worth of residential assets. The decision to integrate world-class property-technology from MRI matches our intent to make people-centric property management our absolute priority. MRI solutions are uber-friendly to use, and we wanted an advanced experience,” he said.
That goal was achieved: more than 80 RMA staff were up and running on MRI Property Tree and MRI Maintenance Plus in just over a month from decision time to actively using the platform. The software gives RMA property managers more time to focus on the human interactions that make a meaningful difference to landlords, tenants and contractors during these unprecedented times.
Stress from record 18.4% hike in Perth weekly rent since pre-COVID
Exclusive MRI Software rental transaction data indicates Perth experienced the highest percentage increase in median weekly rent prices across houses and apartments of any urban residential region in Australia since before COVID hit – meaning the demand pressure across all property types is uniquely high for Perth-based property managers, like RMA.
MRI Property Tree tracks real-time transactions made by most real estate agencies across Australia, now including RMA. MRI’s national rental property data shows a distinct two-speed market trend emerged through COVID since January 2020 to now, where demand for houses went up, along with rent prices, while apartment demand and prices went down to almost the same degree, causing a net zero effect for most states and territories.
This trend is notably different in Perth, according to Josh Symons, Residential Real Estate Industry Principal for MRI Software in Australia, whereMRI data shows rent prices for houses and apartments went up a record 18.4 percent (houses up 17 percentage points and apartments 14) from a median $380 per week in January 2020 to $450 per week by the end of September 2021.
“The human experience behind those numbers are more anxious landlords and property owners, and more tenants under financial and emotional stress expecting top-quality property management service and facilities for the unseasonably high rental prices they’re paying. RMA came to us seeking PropTech solutions to help measurably improve that reality for their staff and clients,” Symons said.
Source: HJ Consulting
