5 Data Points Every Multifamily Budget Should Include (and How to Find Them Fast)
Building a solid multifamily budget starts with the right data points. Without accurate numbers, even the best-laid plans can fall short. Whether you’re a property manager, asset manager, or analyst, identifying the essential multifamily budget data points, and knowing how to find them quickly, can make all the difference.
Budget season can be demanding, but the right approach and technology can make it easier. For additional strategies, check out 7 Ways ALN OnLine Makes Multifamily Budget Season Less Stressful.
In this article, you’ll discover the five most important data points every multifamily budget should include. We’ll show you how each supports your budgeting goals, and how ALN OnLine empowers you to easily gather this information. With the right multifamily budget data points at your fingertips, you can streamline your process, build stronger forecasts, and keep your property performance on track.
1. Market and Effective Rent: Foundational Multifamily Budget Data Points
Understanding both the market rent and the effective rent for comparable properties is essential to building a strong multifamily budget. Market rent represents the asking price for units in your competitive set. Effective rent takes into account concessions and incentives, giving you a realistic view of the income you can expect.
How to Find Them Fast:
With ALN OnLine, you can quickly access both through a simple Quick Search on the home screen. You can view both in the search results table for all properties. You can also run a saved Market Survey report in just three clicks. Compare your property and up to 14 competitors to see side-by-side figures for asking rents, effective rents, amenities, and more. This makes it easy to validate your rent assumptions and ensure your budget reflects the latest market realities.
2. Occupancy Rates: A Must-Have Multifamily Budget Data Point
Occupancy rates are a key component of multifamily budget data points. They show how full your property and the surrounding market actually are. High occupancy often signals strong demand and stable cash flow. Lower rates, however, may point to increased competition or changing market conditions.
How to Find Them Fast:
Just like the Market and Effective Rents, a Quick Search for a property, city, or zip code will display the occupancy for all properties in the results. ALN OnLine’s Submarket Trends and Market Survey also reports make it easy to find the occupancy data you need. Get up-to-date occupancy rates for your property, your submarket, or both.
With fast access to accurate occupancy rates, you’ll be better equipped to set realistic revenue goals.
3. Concessions: Essential Multifamily Budget Data Points for Realistic Forecasts
Concessions such as free rent, move-in specials, or waived fees are crucial multifamily budget data points. These incentives directly affect your property’s bottom line and can be the difference between hitting or missing your revenue targets.
How to Find Them Fast:
With ALN OnLine, it’s easy to see exactly what’s happening with concessions at individual properties or within your area. Reports, such as the Submarket Trends and Market Conditions, display both the prevalence and average value of concessions. You can quickly assess how much you may need to offer to stay in line with the market, and track how these trends shift throughout the year.
By including concessions in your multifamily budget data points, you ensure your revenue projections match market realities. This approach helps you avoid surprises later in the year.
4. New Supply: Critical Multifamily Budget Data Points for Market Awareness
New supply is one of the most influential multifamily budget data points you can track. Properties under construction or recently delivered to your market have a direct impact on occupancy rates, rent growth, and leasing velocity. If you’re not monitoring new supply, your budget could miss key shifts in demand.
How to Find It Fast:
ALN OnLine’s Construction Summary report tracks all new multifamily construction activity in your area. You can filter by construction stage, property type, and location to see exactly what’s coming soon and when it will deliver. This gives you a clear, timely view of competitive pressures on your property.
By using these multifamily budget data points, you can proactively respond to new supply instead of being caught off guard. Staying ahead of new construction is a must for every successful multifamily budget.
5. Historical Data: Strengthen Your Forecast with Trend Visibility
Looking back is key to planning ahead. Historical rent and occupancy trends help you identify seasonal patterns, evaluate market resilience, and avoid unrealistic assumptions. By reviewing what’s happened over the past few years, you can build a more defensible, accurate forecast for the year ahead.
How to Find Them Fast:
ALN OnLine provides up to five years of historical data for both occupancy and market/effective rent at the property, submarket, or market level. Use the “History Tabs” on individual property pages or run Historical Stats reports from your search results to spot year-over-year trends, seasonal dips, or shifts in performance across multiple markets.
With these insights, you can fine-tune your assumptions, prepare for seasonality, and justify your projections with data that shows exactly how your market has evolved.
Bringing It All Together: Master Your Multifamily Budget Data Points with ALN OnLine
A successful multifamily budget starts with the right foundation. The five data points outlined here can help you make more informed decisions, avoid costly missteps, and improve confidence throughout the budgeting process. While every property and team has its own approach, these core metrics offer a reliable starting point for stronger planning.
ALN OnLine makes it easy to find and apply this information. From Market Surveys to Submarket Trends and Construction Summaries, you can access accurate, relevant data in just a few clicks. Spend less time gathering numbers and more time using them to drive better outcomes.
Want to see how ALN OnLine fits into your budgeting process?
Request a demo today to take the next step toward more accurate, reliable multifamily data, or click here to learn more about how we can help your business during budget season.
Disclaimer: All content and information within this article is for informational purposes only. ALN Apartment Data makes no representation as to the accuracy or completeness of any information in this or any other article posted on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be held liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. All content and information in this article may be shared provided a link to the article or website is included in the shared content.