The ORA Power Rankings’ 2021 Year-End Summary is a compilation of the flagship rankings published this year. The rankings highlighted in this summary include the 2020 Elite1% Properties, 2020 Top 100 Student Housing Properties, 2020 Top 10 Student Housing Managers, 2020 Top REITs, Top 10 Properties in 50 states and the District of Columbia, and Division Rankings for the Top 10 of the 2021 NMHC Top 50 (Division I) and Top 25 Management Companies in Divisions II, III, and IV.
To see if your property and/or management company is mentioned in our 2021 Year-End Summary, visit https://www.jturnerresearch.com/2021-year-end-power-ranking.
Established in 2013, the Online Reputation Assessment score (ORA) has grown to become the multifamily industry standard to measure and benchmark a property’s online reputation. Each month, we track the online ratings and reviews of 128,000-plus properties nationwide across multiple review sites and ILSs. The national average ORA score in November was 62.28.
ORA Enhancement
Every one to two years, J Turner Research undergoes an exhaustive process working with a third-party statistical group to better understand the updated trends within the review landscape. From there, we evaluate the need to enhance our ORA model to ensure it best reflects our collective findings and the true heart of the matter—resident satisfaction. As a result of this evaluation, we augmented the ORA algorithm in 2021 with three additional factors:
- Recency of Reviews: Reviews received within the last six months will weigh more, and properties with a more consistent, positive sentiment change on influential sites will have a stronger score;
- Adjustment of Skewed Sentiment Sites: Review sites that are overly skewed in both a positive and negative direction will be adjusted to better represent the true resident satisfaction of the rating; and
- Distribution of Reviews: There will be a heavier emphasis on having a balanced portfolio of reviews. Prospects prefer consistency across multiple sites to validate ratings.
Multifamily Review Volume in 2021 Grew by 15%
At the end of 2020, we recorded 10.8 million reviews across 122,490 properties. The total volume of reviews as of November grew 15% to 12,464,781 reviews across 128,025 properties nationwide.
The market share of the dominant review sites and ILSs based on the total volume of reviews (12,464,781) as of November is as follows: Google is the leader with a 33% share, followed by ApartmentRatings.com at 25% and Modern Message at 13% market share.
Online Reputation Continues to Shape Residents’ Decisions
Our research in 2021 indicates that online reputation continues to strongly influence a resident’s apartment shopping process. According to the Internet Adventure Study Part III, 65% of the respondents picked a property with a higher ORA score. When asked, “What is most important to you when selecting an apartment to rent?,” the top choice was “the staff cares about me,” followed by online ratings and reviews.
Who Won the Top Honors in the 2021 ORA Power Rankings
- Elite 1% 2020: The Wire (Omaha, Nebraska), managed by NuStyle Development, was the No. 1 property in the country with a 99 ORA. A total of 1,303 properties earned the Elite 1% status.
- Top 100 Off-Campus Student Housing Properties for 2020: Meadows Crossing (Allendale, Michigan), managed by Silveri Management, was the top student property for 2020 with a 96 ORA. This ranking was based on tracking the online reputation of more than 2,600 off-campus student housing properties nationwide across relevant review sites and ILSs.
- Top 10 Student Housing Managers for 2020: Dinerstein Student Housing took the top spot with an 83.15 ORA. The top 10 student housing managers by ORA for 2020 was determined based on the Student Housing Business list of the Top 25 Managers of Student Housing for 2020.
- Top REITS for 2020: The top REITs ranking includes private, public listed, and public non-listed REITs published by NAREIT. The top REIT for 2020 was Preferred Apartment Communities with an 80.61 ORA.
- State Ranking: Washington, D.C., was the leading “state” among apartment residents for the seventh consecutive year. The top property in D.C. was 2800 Ontario, managed by WC Smith, with a 97 ORA.
- 2021 Division Rankings
In January, we will announce the much-awaited Elite 1% properties for 2021.
About the ORA Power Rankings
Developed by J Turner Research, the ORA Power Rankings are a monthly, independent ranking of apartment properties and management companies based on their Online Reputation Assessment (ORA) scores. A property or management company is not required to be a J Turner Research client to qualify for this ranking, which is published by J Turner’s media partner Multifamily Executive. To learn more or to request your ORA score, visit www.jturnerresearch.com/about/what-is-ora-score.
Methodology
The ORA score is an aggregate compilation of a property’s ratings across various review sites and ILSs. Each month, J Turner Research monitors the online ratings of more than 128,000 properties nationwide. Using a statistical model, a single score based on a scale of 0 to 100 is assigned to each property. This score serves as a benchmark to compare a company’s individual properties and portfolios nationally, regionally, and against the competition.
