The biggest threats to property management companies in 2026?

AppFolio just published an absolutely phenomenal report that showed the top 11 threats, and here are the leaders:

1️⃣ Maintaining high occupancy rates
2️⃣ Rising operating costs
3️⃣ Delinquencies

Year over year, operating cost expansion continues to be a freight train wrecking havoc on property management.

That said, silver linings are appearing: Adoption of new technology is seeing a dramatic uptick, echoing what we are seeing within the Multifamily Insiders community.

Suppliers, be aware that this represents a mixed blessing, as the 2nd most common strategy for expense reduction is pushing for better rates with preferred suppliers.

Overall, this report is gold 👉 bit.ly/49YUMPl
 

Brent, how does technology reduce expansion of operating costs? Just in time inventory programs? Do you have software recommendations?
Thanks! Elliot

Elliot, great question. I think that when you have concepts like Centralization, it is both a process play and a technology play, and that process definitely reduces operating costs by consolidating, and ultimately, reducing labor.

Huge opportunities for maintenance tech to reduce operational workload by scheduling maintenance more efficiently - there are some really interesting AI solutions on this front.

Another option I've heard whispers about are tech related to risk reduction, impacting insurance costs. I don't know the specifics on actual cost reduction, but the play here would be smart leak detection and fire prevention.

Really, there are just countless ways a strong tech stack can reduce expenses - the challenge is simply having enough information about the space to build the stack intelligently so that the pieces operate harmoniously.

Brent, lots of moving parts. Wouldn’t it be great if less risk lowered insurance premiums and instead more profit for casualty insurance companies. Learned more from your reply than original post. Thanks for sharing! Elliot

Thanks Brent Williams. Can't wait to give it a read.

I really miss using Appfolio!