Grace Hill, a talent and customer management solutions provider for the multifamily industry, continues to expand its suite of solutions. The firm has acquired Realync, a leading virtual platform for resident tours and communication. Deal terms were not disclosed.

An innovator in virtual tour technology, Realync’s platform enables multifamily property owners and operators to connect with prospective and current residents through video content and virtual tours.

Realync has experienced consistent growth over the past four years by providing easy-to-use tools to help property teams improve performance. In the first half of this year, its clients hit new records for content creation and engagement, including 11,388 videos created, over 1.6 million video tour views, and over 3,300 live virtual tours and hosted sessions.

Its virtual capabilities are new to the Grace Hill suite of solutions, with the acquisition boosting its multimedia options for its clients. By offering Realync’s video software, Grace Hill plans to make digital content like short-form videos as well as virtual and live tours more accessible and measurable for multifamily teams. In the future, according to Grace Hill, it sees opportunities to incorporate Realync’s virtual, video, and 360-degree technology into its training, performance, and analytics at the property level.

“Video communication is transforming the way residents connect with property teams in real estate, and Realync’s cutting-edge platform is a powerful addition to our solutions,” says Grace Hill CEO Kendall Pretzer. “Together, we are uniquely positioned to drive property performance and elevate resident satisfaction across the industry.”

Realync founders Matt Weirich and Ani Rangarajan will join the Grace Hill leadership team. Weirich will serve as executive vice president for Realync, taking care of clients and Realync employees, while Rangarajan will join as product strategy officer to begin working with the product team to strategize and innovate the Realync products across the Grace Hill platform. Software Equity Group served as the exclusive adviser to Realync.

“We are thrilled to join the Grace Hill family,” says Weirich. “This acquisition will leverage the expertise of both Realync and Grace Hill, and we are confident that together we are better positioned to continue to meet and exceed the needs of the real estate industry. We are excited to continue providing superior service and new solutions to continue to address our customers’ most critical marketing, leasing, and operating challenges.”

Grace Hill notes the digital rental journey continues to evolve, with renters seeking to find apartments the same way they shop online, and the acquisition will help further leverage immersive digital community to serve prospects and current residents. The 2024 NMHC and Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey found that 45% of renters reported that interactive virtual or 3D tours are the most valuable digital content in their apartment search, up 10% from the 2022 survey results. In addition, according to the survey, 1 in 5 renters toured properties via a live video tour during their search.

This is the second acquisition for Grace Hill over the past several months. At the end of July, it announced the acquisition of The Shadow Agency, a full-service mystery shopping company that provides services to the multifamily, home building, and retail sectors, and the creation of a mystery shopping department.