Top Marketers: What Large Portfolios Know About Renter Behavior | Josh Draughn & Corina Stef

Why It Matters

Understanding these nuanced renter preferences enables multifamily firms to build trust, accelerate leases, and out‑perform competitors in an increasingly data‑driven market.

Key Takeaways

• Integrated marketing and operations boost lead conversion and trust
• Renters demand transparency; fake listings erode confidence in market
• Laughter during tours increases lease likelihood by 48%
• Detailed amenity videos and pet‑park maps drive engagement
• Small‑scale operators can act on data faster than large portfolios

Summary

Top Marketers featured senior vice president of marketing Josh Draughn discussing how large multifamily portfolios are decoding renter behavior. He explains that Hillpoint’s model fuses demand generation, centralized operations, and technology to ensure every inquiry receives a high‑quality response, turning interest into tours, applications, and ultimately leases. Key insights include the shift from persuasive advertising to precision‑driven trust, the critical role of transparency amid fake listings, and the power of data‑backed nuances—such as a 48% lease lift when a prospect laughs during a tour. The conversation also highlights renters’ appetite for granular content like gym‑equipment videos, pet‑park location maps, and even preferences for analog doorbells over digital keypads. Draughn cites a study of 1.6 million customer calls revealing the laughter effect, and notes that showing 50 available units for new builds builds confidence, while over‑listing erodes it. He also shares anecdotes about residents requesting detailed amenity walkthroughs and the surprising desire for simple doorbell interfaces, underscoring the complexity and locality of renter expectations. The implications are clear: operators must prioritize authenticity, leverage real‑time data to personalize experiences, and maintain a balance between centralized efficiency and local market flavor. Smaller portfolios can iterate quickly on insights, gaining a competitive edge over massive operators bogged down by red tape, ultimately driving higher conversion rates and revenue growth.

Original Description

Hillpointe's Josh Draughn and MHN’s Corina Stef share insights that are shaping the next phase of leasing, marketing and resident engagement.

As multifamily operators navigate shifting renter expectations, rising competition and rapid technological change, large portfolios are uncovering behavioral patterns and operational insights into renter behavior that smaller firms may not yet see. At scale, data becomes more than a performance metric; It becomes a window into how renters think, search, compare and ultimately decide where to live.

From digital trust and pricing sensitivity to tour behavior and response times, today’s renter journey is becoming increasingly nuanced. Operators are no longer competing solely on amenities or location. They are competing on speed, transparency, convenience and authenticity across every touchpoint.

What’s emerging is a broader shift in multifamily marketing: the convergence of marketing, centralized operations, customer experience and technology. The operators best positioned for the future are those learning how to connect these functions into a seamless renter journey, while still maintaining a local, human touch.

This episode of Multi-Housing News’ Top Marketers podcast explores what large-scale multifamily platforms are learning about renter behavior and how those insights may shape the next phase of leasing, marketing and resident engagement.

Joining us is Josh Draughn, senior vice president of marketing and centralized operations at Hillpointe. A recent hire at Hillpointe, Draughn brings nearly two decades of experience spanning multifamily marketing, centralized operations and technology strategy. Before joining Hillpointe, he held leadership roles at Greystar, Cortland and Weidner Apartment Homes, where he helped oversee large-scale marketing initiatives and operational systems across tens of thousands of units.

Throughout the conversation, Draughn discusses how renter behavior has evolved over the past two decades, why authenticity now outweighs overly polished branding, how AI and centralized operations are reshaping leasing strategies and what operators can learn from analyzing millions of renter interactions.

Key topics include how data-driven marketing, renter trust and centralized operations can better interpret renter behavior at scale, transform multifamily leasing in an era where authenticity beats polish.

* (4:31) From Indiana Jones to multifamily marketing

* (9:09) What renters really think at scale

* (11:00) The laughter stat: 1.6M calls analyzed

* (20:43) Why polished marketing backfires

* (19:00) Reddit, speed & the modern renter journey

* (22:28) Tech, trust & the future of leasing

#marketing #multifamily #podcast