How We Helped AvalonBay Pre-Lease 90% of Units in 60 Days

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A Data-Driven Lease-Up Strategy That Beat the Clock—and the Competition

When a multifamily developer launches a new community, especially in a competitive suburban market, speed is everything. Every vacant unit represents lost revenue. Every delay cuts into ROI. And in high-density markets like California, developers don’t just compete with other communities—they compete with timing, exposure, and shifting renter behavior.

AvalonBay Communities, one of the most respected names in residential development, found itself in exactly this situation: a new 300-unit suburban property slated to open in California. They needed to pre-lease fast, fill early, and minimize exposure to post-launch vacancy.

Here’s how they did it—and how any developer can use the same approach to drive faster lease-ups with smarter, real-time marketing.

The Challenge: Fill Fast or Fall Behind

With construction nearing completion, AvalonBay was preparing to open the doors to a brand-new community just outside a major metro. The property had premium finishes, great amenities, and was priced competitively. But there was one catch:

They were entering a saturated suburban rental market.

Other communities were opening nearby. Leasing teams were all chasing the same pool of renters. And AvalonBay’s leadership knew that missing the mark on early lease-up velocity could create long-term financial drag, especially in the first 90 days.

Their objective was clear:
Pre-lease as many units as possible before the grand opening.

That meant driving qualified traffic, converting interest into action, and tracking performance down to the dollar.

The Strategy: Every Click Counts

Rather than relying on generic ads or outdated tactics, AvalonBay partnered with our team to design a high-conversion, data-led lease-up strategy focused on three key outcomes:

  1. Hyper-relevance – Ads needed to match real-time inventory and renter behavior.
  2. High intent – Every visitor and lead had to be nurtured toward a tour or application.
  3. Real-time optimization – No guessing. Every decision needed to be grounded in measurable data.

Here’s how we delivered.

1. Meta Ads with Dynamic Inventory Integration

We used DARE (Dynamic Ads for Real Estate) to sync ads with real-time availability.

Standard digital ads can be powerful, but most fall short when it comes to showing the right message to the right person at the right time. That’s where Dynamic Ads for Real Estate (DARE) came in.

By integrating AvalonBay’s unit inventory with Meta’s ad system, we created personalized ads that automatically updated to reflect live availability. That meant:

  • If a one-bedroom unit became available, it appeared instantly in ads.
  • If a unit was leased, it was removed from the ad pool automatically.
  • Prospects saw options that matched their browsing behavior.

No manual updates. No lag. Just always-relevant content delivered at scale.

This also gave AvalonBay an edge—while competitors were running static ads, they were showing dynamic inventory tailored to each user’s search.

2. Lead Capture and Strategic Retargeting

We targeted high-propensity renters and stayed top of mind until they booked.

Generating leads was just the first step. To truly move the needle, we had to capture, qualify, and re-engage those leads until they became leases.

We launched:

  • Meta Lead Ads: These allowed users to express interest directly within the ad without leaving the platform.
  • Lookalike Audiences: We built custom audiences based on AvalonBay’s past renters, targeting similar demographics and behaviors.
  • Retargeting Campaigns: We tracked website visitors who browsed units but didn’t convert, then re-engaged them with time-sensitive messages.

Instead of hoping people would come back, we built a system that brought them back.

3. Automated Email Nurture Flows

Every lead entered a custom email journey designed to drive action.

Once new leads were captured, they didn’t just sit in a spreadsheet.

Each prospect was immediately entered into an automated email flow that:

  • Welcomed them to the community
  • Shared floorplan highlights and availability
  • Offered photo and video tours
  • Addressed common questions (e.g., pet policy, lease length)
  • Encouraged scheduling an in-person or virtual tour

These emails weren’t generic. They were timed, personalized, and written to guide renters through the decision-making process.

The goal was simple: keep leads warm, informed, and moving toward a lease.

4. Real-Time Performance Dashboards

We tracked every lead, dollar, and lease—live.

A campaign is only as good as its visibility. To ensure AvalonBay’s internal teams and stakeholders were always aligned, we provided a custom dashboard with real-time metrics.

Tracked KPIs included:

  • Cost Per Lead (CPL)
  • Click-Through Rate (CTR)
  • Tour Conversion Rate
  • Tour-to-Lease Ratio
  • Spend by Channel
  • Revenue Attribution

Having access to this data on demand allowed for rapid optimization. If CPL started creeping up on one channel, we adjusted the budget allocation immediately. If leads surged but tours didn’t, we flagged potential website friction or email timing issues.

This wasn’t just reporting—it was insight in motion.

The Results: High Velocity, Lower Cost, Zero Panic

By launch day, AvalonBay had exceeded its own projections.

Here’s how the numbers shook out:

  • 90% of units were pre-leased before opening
    (Significantly reducing pressure on post-launch leasing teams)
  • 18% lead form completion rate
    (Industry benchmark for multifamily is around 7–10%)
  • 30% of total leases were directly attributed to the email nurture campaign
    (A massive lift from what is often an underused channel)
  • $4 in revenue generated for every $1 in ad spend
    (A 4x return on digital investment, with measurable ROI)

What’s more, because we built retargeting and email flows into the campaign, AvalonBay continued seeing residual leads and leases after the initial campaign wrapped. It wasn’t just about speed—it was about sustainability.

AvalonBay’s lease-up was successful not because of one flashy ad or lucky timing. It worked because the campaign was:

  • Timely
  • Targeted
  • Measured
  • Adaptive
  • And fully aligned with leasing objectives

They treated their lease-up like a launch, not an afterthought. And the payoff? Faster stabilization, greater visibility, and higher returns.

If you’re preparing to open a new community or need to accelerate leasing performance, you don’t have to guess what works.

We’ve built the playbook. Let’s put it to work for you.