Parks Associates: Multifamily units deploy electronic access control to meet resident expectations

Parks Associates' new study, Smart Properties: The Value of IoT for MDUs, a survey of 300 MDU (multidwelling unit) property managers and owners, finds many multifamily residents and staff now expect their property to have an electronic access control system. Of those owners/managers planning to deploy, upgrade, or replace an access control system in the next five years, 62% plan to do so to meet the expectations of their residents and staff. While improving operational efficiency is a key goal for multifamily properties, properties see a strong value in access control solutions' core mission of enhancing community safety and security, both in terms of meeting resident demand and in preventing adverse events.

Smart Properties: The Value of IoT for MDUs compares top value propositions for smart apartment and IoT platforms and devices and quantifies the return on investment through operational efficiencies, increased rental rates, and decreased resident turnover.

"Companies' major drivers for deploying access control are safety-related, both enhancing safety and security in the community as well as promoting the perception of safety among residents and staff," said Kristen Hanich, Research Director, Parks Associates. "Providing staff access to residential units is another key driver and a core component of how these systems' effectiveness is measured."

The study also notes that MDU owners and operators are keenly interested in deploying tested IoT systems, with nearly 90% reporting plans on deploying, upgrading, or replacing tested smart building solutions in the next 12 months. Along with electronic access control systems, property video surveillance, smart thermostats, and smart irrigation controls lead in terms of imminent interest and demand.

"Several years of high interest rates led to a lull in new construction, with new technology adoption becoming increasingly prominent in retrofits," Hanich said. "With historic amounts of new inventory hitting the market across both 2024 and 2025, existing properties will need to look towards new amenities for residents or be prepared to cut their prices to compete."