Twenty-four percent of multifamily owners and operators report having a smart building provider or aggregator for at least one of the properties they serve, according to a newly published study by Parks Associates, which surveyed 300 multifamily property owners and building operators. 

The primary research study, titled “Smart Properties: The Value of IoT for MDUs,” provides insight on technology adoption and needs among multifamily property owners and operators, with a specific focus on connectivity, IoT devices and smart building services. 

“Respondents report using an average of three smart building platforms throughout their portfolios,” said Kristen Hanich, research director, Parks Associates. “This market is highly fragmented, far from settled, and competitors who can prove their value, ease of use, and positive customer support experiences can gain share across a company’s property portfolio.”

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Security monitoring, smart thermostats and water management are commonly integrated into these systems. Electronic access control, parking management, and package management solutions are more likely to be stand-alone systems, according to the study. 

MDU (multi-dwelling unit) owners and operators report that smart building solutions have had a positive impact on tested metrics, including increasing operating efficiency and reducing operating costs, energy and water utility costs, and the number of safety or crime incidents across their portfolios. 

“Companies are leveraging the experience they’ve gained in deploying the earlier generation of smart building technologies to create benchmarks for effectiveness,” Hanich said. “These benchmarks serve as guides for their future deployments.”