Meet Jeanne Casey, global head of proptech and innovation at Nuveen, where she leads proptech investments and insights for the firm. Casey came to Nuveen, one of the largest real estate managers in the world and one of the largest multifamily owners in the U.S. with nearly 70,000 units in its portfolio, after previously being a principal at leading proptech venture capital firm MetaProp. She shares with MFE some of her strategies around proptech as well as her thoughts on the next big trend.
MFE: How is proptech making Nuveen a better company?
Casey: We are exploring and embracing proptech across all areas of our business. Whether we’re evaluating digital tools that help us source new investment opportunities or we’re piloting technologies to help us better manage and operate our global portfolio, we see proptech as critical to our strategy. More specifically, proptech enables us to make better investment decisions, allows us to operate more efficiently and sustainably, and provides more opportunities for us to delight our residents.
MFE: What are your key strategies for decision-making and implementation around new proptech?
Casey: Nuveen’s culture embraces innovation and cross-functional collaboration. A key early step in any new decision around proptech is a group discussion. It is also critical that we ensure there is buy-in from the ultimate end users of a technology from the beginning. Finally, we embrace pilots and trials in single buildings or markets before we roll something out regionally or portfolio-
wide. Our asset management team is incredibly forward-thinking—if someone is running a successful pilot, there is a lot of momentum to share those findings with other colleagues.
MFE: How is Nuveen utilizing technology to enhance the renter experience?
Casey: We think about how technology can enhance our residents’ experience from the very first touch point they have with our properties. We offer virtual tours and interactive site maps that help future residents virtually explore and physically navigate our properties. We are actively piloting fintech tools in properties across our portfolio that not only remove friction from rental payments, but provide additional benefits for our residents. Some of these pilots include digital payments, rental rewards programs, and credit reporting and coaching. We are also big believers in smart home technology and have rolled out smart units that give our renters greater control and comfort. Finally, we are deploying resident apps and electric vehicle charging stations across our portfolio.
MFE: The pandemic accelerated proptech in multifamily. What’s here to stay, and what might fall by the wayside?
Casey: The pandemic forced us to revisit operations—everything from tours and leasing to maintenance requests suddenly had to incorporate social distance or a fully remote component. Additionally, many of us began working from home for the first time. Everyone has had to reimagine the spaces we occupy during the day as living and working converged. Demand for amenities to facilitate work from home skyrocketed (think high-speed internet and digital maintenance requests). While some of us have returned to the office, the hybrid model is here to stay—along with the amenities needed to do so.
People have also gotten comfortable viewing, leasing, and even buying properties online. While making these decisions sight unseen isn't for everyone, I see virtual tours and leasing a growing area of focus for multifamily owners and operators. Property managers and maintenance teams also had to become more comfortable with digital requests and workflows. We are leveraging technology to centralize leasing and maintenance across our properties in markets where an operator has critical mass.
When new technologies are adopted that make lives and jobs better and easier, they tend to be pretty sticky. So I don't think there is much that will fall by the wayside. However, I think the intense focus on pandemic-specific solutions will start to fade in the coming months and years.
MFE: What’s the next big tech trend for the multifamily industry?
Casey: Residents will increasingly demand transparency around sustainability metrics and the carbon footprints of their buildings and communities. There is significant push and pull from new regulations alongside increasing demand for this data from residents. Nuveen is simultaneously evaluating technologies that better measure and manage the carbon footprints of our existing buildings and exploring partnerships with tech-enabled design and build platforms to help us develop more sustainable buildings in the future.
MFE: What's your favorite app?
Casey: I would be lost without Google Maps (quite literally). I love being able to explore my surroundings in new places. I also enjoy trying out new smart-home apps and have everything from a smart lock to smart window shades that I can control with my phone.
