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Last month, in mid-October, we held our biennial J Turner Research Summit. We invited industry executives and leadership to learn and connect. We invited several guest speakers and had some J Turner presenters as well. In this edition of the Brewing Data Blog, I will share high level overviews of the sessions:
Leading Tech Futurist, Crystal Washington
Crystal spoke on future proofing yourself in an ever-evolving world. She defines the concept of “future-proofing” as the process of anticipating future events and developing methods of minimizing the effects of shocks and stresses from those events. A core tenet worth repeating: “Inaction is an action. I have a choice.”
Chief Economist at Zonda, Ali Wolf
Ali has become a regular presenter at our Summits. She shared recent housing market trends as well as predictions. This year, occupancies moved from a record high in 2022 (97.5%) back to pre-pandemic levels (95%). The median age of the first-time home buyer today is 38. It’s worth watching labor trends, tariffs, and immigration – slowing economic growth equates to fewer household formations.
Five-time New York Times bestsellers Author, Malcom Gladwell
Malcolm shared some stories centering around how tangible results and expertise are often not consummate with perceived trust. It's imperative that peoples’ sentiments and fears are properly addressed by thoughtful messaging. One such anecdote supporting this tenet was the reputational harm to Toyota from a high-profile crash due to a brake failure. It was later proven that the crash was not caused by mechanical issues but rather “pedal confusion.” However, by simply blaming user error and not addressing drivers with empathy, public relations damage was sustained, and it took some time for Toyota to regain their reputation for dependability.
Director of Research at J Turner Research, Marcus Armstrong
Marcus ran through some findings from a (not yet published) research report – The Next Gen Renter II. Today’s renter is digitally adept and discerning. They no longer simply seek for a place to live, but an all-encompassing lifestyle hub optimized for work, wellness, and convenience. Hybrid lifestyle is here to stay and apartments need to enable it. High-speed internet and enhanced soundproofing are no longer luxuries but critical features. You can expect the comprehensive report to be made public in Q1 2026.
Principle Solutions Engineer at Valkyrie, Keatra Nesbitt
Keatra showcased leveraging data and AI to guide strategy and high-level decision making. Through iterating research, evaluation, and deployment, hidden insights are revealed, and custom solutions can be created for a wide array of applications.
Joseph Batdorf & Chris Taylor
Joseph and Chris spoke on creating a great company culture. There are eleven ingredients to do so, those being: mission/vision/values, leading by example, open communication, trust and psychological safety, recognition and appreciation, opportunities for growth, accountability and fairness, collaboration and team spirit, diversity/equity/inclusion, work-life balance, and consistency and rituals.
Turner Batdorf & Peyton Box
Capping off the Summit sessions was “Multifamily MythBusters.” Here, Turner and Peyton dove into three statements and investigated if they were confirmed, busted, or plausible. The first statement was confirmed — social media is worth operators’ time and money. Second, illegitimate reviews were proven to not be worth the risk. Finally, investing in amenities in this market is plausible; focusing first on being sound onsite is more important – this starts with giving residents a safe and clean environment.
And there you have it! An awesome event with insightful and engaging speakers. It's worth noting that J Turner specifically seeks out non-multifamily industry speakers. There’s a lot to be learned from outside the industry. The next J Turner Research Summit will likely take place sometime in 2027.
These takeaways just scratched the service. If you’re curious to know more about any of the sessions, here is some information on the external speakers:
- Crystal Washington: https://crystalwashington.com/
- Ali Wolf: https://zondahome.com/person/ali-wolf/
- Malcolm Gladwell: https://www.gladwellbooks.com/
- Chris Taylor: https://www.cultureindex.com/
- Keatra Nesbitt: https://valkyrie.ai/