The Cost of Turnover in Multifamily 💸

In multifamily, nothing erodes value faster than resident turnover.

Every time a resident leaves, the impact ripples through the community: the vacant unit, the concessions to backfill it, the marketing spend to generate leads, the maintenance costs to turn the space.

It’s not just a vacancy — it’s an invisible tax on NOI.

📉 The Hidden Cost of Every Move-Out

Industry studies consistently show that the cost of a single move-out falls between $3,000 and $5,000.

That number comes from:

• Lost rent during vacancy
  
  
• Leasing concessions to fill the unit
  
  
• Marketing and ad spend to drive traffic
  
  
• Turn costs for cleaning and repairs
  
  

For onsite teams, this shows up as constant pressure: “Why aren’t we at 96% occupancy?”
For ownership, it shows up on the P&L as a drag on net operating income.

And it adds up quickly. A 5,000-unit portfolio losing even 5% of residents unnecessarily could be bleeding millions of dollars a year.

🏃 The Industry’s Reactive Habit

The way multifamily has traditionally handled this is reactive:

Wait for the notice → panic to fill the unit → throw more money at ads → repeat the cycle.

It’s a hamster wheel that keeps onsite teams chasing and keeps ownership absorbing the costs.

This is the mirror problem we described before — seeing the damage only after it’s done.

📡 A Smarter Way: Resident Intelligence™

What if instead of reacting, you could predict?

Resident Intelligence is built to flip the script. Instead of waiting for turnover to show up as a vacancy, ResidentOS™ gives leaders the ability to:

• See which residents are at risk before they give notice
  
  
• Identify which communities are trending toward higher churn
  
  
• Invest resources where they will actually prevent turnover
  
  

It’s not just marketing efficiency. It’s financial protection.

💡 Why This Matters for Ownership and PMCs

Turnover is not just an onsite headache. It’s the single largest controllable expense in multifamily.

With Resident Intelligence, PMCs and ownership can:

• Protect NOI by reducing unnecessary churn
  
  
• Strengthen asset value by showing consistent retention
  
  
• Give onsite teams the tools to act with foresight, not panic
  
  

This reframes retention from an “operational detail” into a strategic financial lever.

🔭 Looking Ahead

The cost of turnover has always been accepted as the cost of doing business. But it doesn’t have to be.

ResidentOS is defining the new standard: Resident Intelligence™.

By shifting from reactivity to prediction, we help communities keep residents longer, protect NOI, and create stability across portfolios.

Because in multifamily, the most expensive unit isn’t the one you market. It’s the one you lose.

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👉 Missed the announcement? See how BlackField Management became HeyNeighborly.

‍👉 Want the full vision? What is ResidentOS?.

‍👉 Have more questions? Visit our FAQ page.

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