On a special episode of the Walker Webcast, Willy sat down with Ben Schall, Chief Executive Officer and President of AvalonBay, at the Bisnow Multifamily Annual Conference. What are they forecasting for the multifamily market in 2025?
Don’t miss this compelling, in-person discussion where they covered Ben’s early career trajectory and how he worked his way up the ladder to CEO, AvalonBay’s cultural values, the company’s movement to the suburbs and expansion markets, how they are leveraging AI through every phase of the customer journey, how to stay nimble amid interest rate uncertainty, and Ben’s outlook on market performance, jobs, supply, and where he’s seeing momentum.
Key Points In The Webcast:
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Early life in New Jersey and Swarthmore
04:31 Working before going to Harvard
05:51 Becoming COO at Rouse
09:27 Leading a publicly traded company
12:07 Moving into AvalonBay
14:35 Adjusting to the existing sunbelt and coastal suburbs portfolio
17:20 The client as the “knowledge worker”
20:28 Innovations on technology
22:32 Using AI to screen tenants
24:58 Co-locations in MSAs or more diverse developments?
26:05 Where will apartment home growth come from?
30:54 The gap between renting and owning
33:08 Revealing another opportunity for growth
35:51 Investing in build-to-rent
37:08 What to do when rates move up
38:54 Advice for Mid-Atlantic developers
42:57 Trump’s impact on the housing economy
45:19 How can AvalonBay overcome its competitors?
48:01 Where to invest now
49:03 The power of constant change and company culture
51:41 Focusing on finding more opportunities for growth
53:04 Who’s AvalonBay’s real competitor?
GET NOTIFIED about upcoming shows:
» Subscribe to our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5jhzGBWOTvQku2kLbucGcw
» See upcoming guests on the #WalkerWebcast here:
https://www.walkerdunlop.com/webcasts
Related webcasts: Tune in on Wednesdays for fresh perspectives about leadership, business, the economy, commercial real estate, and more! #WillyWalker hosts a diverse network of leaders as they share the wisdom that cuts across industry lines.
Check out our previous videos:
» Full playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_QkMqEzOkzNmWUe9kpfRJ4213jIh6LNk
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/driven-by-insight/id1540843402
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1z3wDGMAjtscNhKWJfXs7L
Follow us:
» LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/walker-&-dunlop/
» Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WalkerDunlop
» Twitter: https://twitter.com/WalkerDunlop
» Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkerdunlop/
POSTING POLICY:
Please bear in mind that this is a public and professional platform. We’ll do our best to ensure that our postings on this page comply with our standards, which prohibit content that:
• is abusive, defamatory, threatening, or obscene
• is fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading
• violates the copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, right of privacy, right of publicity, or other intellectual property right of another
• contains or links to any virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other forms of malware or harmful code
• contains the personal information of others, such as names, addresses, and telephone numbers
• violates any law or regulation
• is otherwise offensive. We expect users not to post content that violates our standards. We cannot monitor postings or discussions in advance, but we reserve the right to remove any posting that does not meet our standards.
source
