A high occupancy rate can bankrupt you.
Let that sink in.
Because when Key Performance Indicators are misaligned, they deceive.
KPI worship can be a dangerous religion.
Too many property managers are chasing metrics like occupancy rate, cost per lead, or average maintenance spend, without asking why those numbers matter.
If you’re optimizing for short-term glory, you’re mortgaging your future.
High occupancy looks impressive. But if you’re stuffing units with short-stay residents, incentivizing weak credit, or cutting corners on maintenance to hit targets, you’re building a powder keg.
And powder kegs blow up.
Cost-per-lead is another darling of the dashboard crowd.
But what happens when that lead was never going to stick around?
Or worse, becomes a liability to your community culture?
Here’s the raw truth: You can’t manage what you don’t measure. But if you measure the wrong things, you’ll manage yourself into a corner.
It’s time to shift the lens.
Measure what matters over time.
Start with resident satisfaction.
Not surveys.
Not “likes.”
Real feedback.
Track retention over 24 months.
Measure word-of-mouth leases.
Monitor net promoter scores—not just at move-in, but six months later.
Don’t just count dollars.
Count delays avoided.
Count downtime averted.
Count smiles on team members who want to stay because you’re building something real.
Here’s the gold: Predictive analytics.
Use them.
Don’t just report the past.
Anticipate the future.
Forecast turnover.
Map market rent movements.
Preempt maintenance meltdowns.
And for heaven’s sake, invest in a data stack that does more than vomit reports.
Want to stand out?
Measure what competitors won’t.
Measure kindness.
Measure creative outreach.
Measure boldness in testing new business models.
KPIs should be a compass.
“When your metrics lie, your strategy dies. Align KPIs with future value, not present vanity.” – Mike Brewer