Industry experts weigh in on the ever-changing expectations of both residents and property management, the repurposing of unused office space and the opportunities for growth in the multifamily vertical.

Multifamily is an ecosystem that includes more than just residents. Some multifamily systems provide residents with the ability to issue temporary access to their visitors.

Time and time again we hear about the ways in which the pandemic has reshaped our way of thinking about a topic, and that sentiment rings again true for multifamily access control. For starters, we now live in the delivery age of Amazon, Door Dash and Shipt making, visitor management an integral part of the multifamily space. Some residents have held onto habits and expectations from the days when they were told to socially distance themselves and to work from home. Additionally, the lifting of those orders also shaped what other residents expect out of their buildings. This has led to the rise of the mixed-use space, where developers are adding gyms, restaurants, and co-work and commercial spaces to their buildings.

One of the things that you quickly realize in multifamily is that it’s a live building.”
— Robert Gaulden, Allegion

And as the world becomes more aware of the mobile, smart and cloud-based solutions available to them, residents’ expectations have exceeded that of a brass key and lock. According to a 2023 report from Allegion, renters are willing to pay 82 percent more for mobile access control to monitor entry and guest access. In the same report, Allegion found that the use of electronic door locks that are connected to the internet and app-controlled has increased by 140 percent. For these reasons — and more that will be soon discussed — multifamily access control is seen by many industry experts as a vertical with tremendous growth potential — both in new construction and in retrofit situations.

And, according to the experts, it’s a vertical with an impressive amount of opportunity for growth. “We are bullish on our outlook for the multifamily market,” says Michael Rooney, director, business development multifamily, ASSA ABLOY Door Security Solutions, New Haven, Conn. “The vertical continues to outpace most other real-estate verticals and offers excellent opportunities for security integrators.”