Multifamily Talks Live Recap: Key Takeaways From RETCON and Multifamily Social Media Summit (MSMS) 2025

The multifamily industry is rapidly changing  with technology, marketing and operations transforming how communities connect with residents. On our latest, Multifamily Talks Live Event: An Insider Recap of RETCON and Social Media Summit 2025, host Krista Hurley, Industry Principal at RealPage, sat down with two industry leaders to unpack the top takeaways from these two major conferences. 

Jay Rawls, Senior Director of Operations and Technology at Northwood Ravin, shared insights from RETCON, while Ariel Baranauckas, VP of Marketing and Recruiting at Carter-Haston, reflected on key discussions from the Multifamily Social Media Summit. Here’s what stood out: 

RETCON 2025: AI and Automation Take Center Stage

RETCON continues to be the premier event for innovation in the real estate sector, with discussions dominated by AI-driven automation, data-driven decision-making and PropTech integrations this year. Some of the big themes that stood out to Rawls were: 

AI’s Growing Role in Operations – From predictive maintenance to AI-driven leasing, automation reduces friction and improves efficiencies across portfolios. The consensus? AI isn’t replacing jobs—it’s elevating teams by handling repetitive tasks. 

“I think it's enhancing roles and that should be the goal over time. And not just front office, but back office, too, in terms of centralizing operations, streamlining workflows, making property management more efficient and scalable. You need to learn how operators and developers out there, apartment builders, are using it now in the early stages and use cases are really still evolving.”

Data as a Competitive Advantage – Operators increasingly leverage real-time analytics to inform pricing, marketing and retention strategies. The push for better data transparency and actionable insights was a major focus. 

“...we have to have good data because that's how we're going to determine on the front end what makes sense? Is the juice worth the squeeze, right? So, you have to have good, reliable data. And I think as we move from this environment of, you know, fifteen years ago where we had like one PMS system and that was it, to all these products now that each have their own reporting. And often I mentioned, you know, reporting being in silos. You know, it's so common where the same data point terminology exists in multiple systems. You might have a report in your CRM or report in your PMS that pulls some of the same metrics. Well, you need to understand what the source of truth is and hopefully those two can match.” 

Human Touch Is More Important Than Ever – While technology enhances efficiency, the industry recognizes that no amount of AI can replace genuine human connections. The best operators are leveraging tech to streamline tasks while allowing onsite teams to focus on personalized resident interactions.  

“I think that who are the most successful deploying it (AI) are the ones who are able to sort of strike that balance, that right balance of personal touch and AI and automation.” 

Social Media Summit 2025: AI Makes Room for Strategy & Creativity 

At the Social Media Summit, the conversation centered around engagement, authenticity and community building. Ariel Baranauckas shared these standout themes: 

AI as a Game-Changer for Marketing & Content Creation – AI-powered tools are revolutionizing how multifamily brands create and distribute content. From generating social media captions to editing short-form videos for platforms like Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts, AI is making content production faster and more efficient.  

“What are you giving it (AI) to really develop the answer that you want versus re-asking over and over again and just saying that's not it. It just really gave my team kind of a whole new playbook for content creation that's strategic and time-saving.” 

Authenticity Through Strategy and Technology – Multifamily marketers want to be more strategic, but that requires time, the right tools and the capacity to focus on high-impact initiatives. Removing operational noise through AI-driven automation or more efficient marketing systems frees teams to focus on creativity and big-picture brand building. But strategy alone isn’t enough—brand and demand must work together. While lead generation is critical, long-term success comes from building trust and connection with your audience from the start.  

“We understand that for multifamily marketers, we want to be more strategic, but that takes time, that takes tools and support and sometimes it's hard to think big picture when you're stuck doing manual tasks or you don't have the right tech in place. And so that's why investing in better systems and giving our teams room to be creative is so important.” 

Traditional Search Is Evolving – There is a significant shift in how renters search for apartments. Instead of relying on traditional Google searches, more people are using AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and voice assistants. This shift means being visible across a wider, more intelligent ecosystem is crucial. To stay ahead, you must understand how to appear in these new search methods and work with third-party partners to appear on top. 

“I would suggest everybody to go search a neighborhood and say, show me the top five apartments in this neighborhood that have, and then insert a few key traits that you want for an apartment and see what pops up. I think you'll be surprised and see where it's sourced from.” 

Watch the Full Recap 

The insights shared during this LinkedIn Live event highlight the transformative impact of AI and automation on the multifamily industry, as discussed at RETCON and MSMS this year. It's clear that while technology enhances efficiency and data-driven decision-making, the human touch remains irreplaceable. Embracing these innovations while maintaining genuine connections will be key to thriving in this evolving landscape.  

For a deeper dive into these insights, watch the full LinkedIn Live discussion with Krista Hurley, Jay Rawls, and Ariel Baranauckas. Don’t miss their takes on the biggest focuses and emerging trends shaping the multifamily landscape in 2025! 

👉 Watch Now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlpbaFt05QA