J Turner Research’s second annual Einstein Best of Awards recognizes the Top 25 properties that have set the standard for excellence across the operational areas that matter most to residents—Customer Service, Communication, Cleanliness, Maintenance, and Security. Developed using Einstein, J Turner Research’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered review analysis platform, this ranking reflects a sustained commitment to resident satisfaction and effective service.
The properties featured in the 2026 Einstein Best of Awards ranking not only earned exceptional resident praise in their respective categories but, more important, went the past 18 months without receiving a single complaint in the respective operational area.
The Leaders in Each Category
- Customer Service: Union Tuscaloosa, managed by Greystar, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama;
- Communication: Newberry Square Apartments, managed by MG Properties Group, in Lynnwood, Washington;
- Cleanliness: Arbor Terrace Cooper City, managed by Arbor Co., in Pembroke Pines, Florida;
- Maintenance: Hadley, managed by RedPeak, in Thornton, Colorado; and
- Security: College Creek Apartments, managed by USA Multifamily Management, in Santa Rosa, California.
The top 10 properties in each category are listed below. For the complete list, visit the 2026 Einstein Best of Awards.
Eligibility
To qualify for the rankings, properties were required to have at least 100 units and a review history spanning more than one year. In the event of a tie, the properties’ Online Reputation Assessment (ORA) scores were used as the tiebreaker.
These rankings were developed using Einstein, which categorized resident reviews from more than 150,000 multifamily properties nationwide over an 18-month period. The analysis encompassed more than 2 million reviews and 5.5 million review categorizations.
The average ORA score of the ranked properties is 86.31, placing them firmly among the top 5% of multifamily properties nationwide.
Impact of AI on Apartment Search
J Turner Research’s latest research suggests that many prospective renters are focused on identifying potential problems before they lease. While star ratings pose an initial hurdle in the prospect's evaluation process, a growing number of renters are actively looking for information that helps them avoid negative outcomes; they search online with negative intentions, trying to reduce the number of properties they will end up touring. In the past, prospects could simply filter reviews by lowest rating to uncover concerns. Today, AI makes that process significantly easier and spells out operational issues more plainly.
According to J Turner Research’s 2026 research, satisfaction is the No. 1 topic prospects are looking for, appearing most frequently both in the information they consider useful and in the prompts they submit to AI tools such as ChatGPT. Specifically, prospects are increasingly using AI to surface information about resident complaints and operational issues that may otherwise be buried within hundreds of reviews. While not every complaint carries the same weight, the reality is that renters want this information, and AI is making it easier than ever to find.
The Einstein Best of Awards acknowledges the properties that are doing the best in this new era of online reputation: leading with resident satisfaction/strong operations and finding genuine, raving fans to leave compliments online where it makes sense.
About Einstein Best of Awards
J Turner Research utilizes its categorization tool, Einstein, to rank the properties based on an aggregation of their open-ended feedback. Using our proprietary AI Thought Analysis, all open-ended feedback is skillfully categorized into 22 operational categories specific to the multifamily industry. Having analyzed over 18 million reviews, Einstein provides unparalleled access into multifamily properties’ operations. To learn more, visit Einstein.