COMPETITION COOPERATION IN SOFT MARKETS.

Competition cooperation can help you gain new residents, and have a better sense of the market. Don't be afraid to talk to your competition, they may be one of your best sources of information.

A challenging market--whether soft, overbuilt or just plain dreadful--is not a fun place to be. The dog-eat-dog mentality in a soft market can bring even a seasoned apartment manager to her knees. And then there is the problem of explaining to owners, asset managers and off-site supervisors that the market is soft. The owners don't want to believe it, the asset managers don't care and the off-site supervisor doesn't want to hear it, because they have to answer to all of the above. So what is one to do? Take some strategic advice from Tina of Survivor fame. Cooperate with the enemy. Make your competitors your friends, your allies, your best buddies. Seriously. You want to stabilize your community in a soft market, then try enlisting the help of your toughest competition. Not only does this make your day-to-day operations less stressful, it can change the attitude and productivity of your team, generate traffic and leases, and bring a new positive outlook to your sub-market.

Make New Friends

If you are currently in a soft market, battling the distortion of numbers and the direct mail of your competitors, then you know from whence I speak. Nothing is more frustrating than doing a market survey, calling up your competition and having them tell you that they are 95 percent occupied when you know they are giving away two months free and sitting on 15 percent availability. I'm really not sure why this is such a common business practice in our industry, but it does nothing but damage. Thousands upon thousands of unheeded units have been built in markets where exaggeration was commonplace and created the illusion of a strong market. Because of inaccurate information, overdevelopment has occurred and created soft markets with incredibly slow absorption rates throughout the United States. By making friends with your competition you can share accurate information and begin to combat overdevelopment. And just because you become friendly, don't expect the direct mail or marketing to stop. That would be a poor business decision, but it is nice to have the competition call you up and let you know that you are being direct mailed, instead of hearing it from the mailman.