AIM 2026: The Price Is Wrong: A Game Show for Getting It Right

The Price Is Wrong: A Game Show for Getting It Right 

Hosted by Julie Blanc, co-founder and CEO of Rentana, the game-show-style session featured Mark Limpert of Orion Real Estate Partners, Carroll Vanhook of JVM Realty, and Paul Edgsman of Thrive Communities. Using three property scenarios, the panel debated whether rents were too high, too low, or should be held—then reconsidered their answers as additional operational and marketing data was revealed.

The first scenario involved a Denver property struggling with exposure despite a six-week concession. The critical clues were a 48-hour follow-up lag, staffing problems, and $50,000 per month in vacancy loss. Rather than simply assuming price was wrong, the discussion highlighted execution problems that could potentially be addressed through better staffing, follow-up, scheduling, and technology.

In Fort Lauderdale, traffic and tours remained steady while applications declined 20%. Additional data revealed that marketing spend had shifted heavily toward paid social, increasing lead volume but dramatically reducing lead quality. The issue wasn't rent—it was ad targeting. Reallocating spend toward higher-intent channels could improve conversion without sacrificing rate.

The Austin lease-up illustrated a different challenge. At 78% occupancy, the property was behind pro forma despite healthy lead and tour volume. Panelists debated lowering rent, increasing concessions, introducing targeted incentives, or holding while improving closing execution. The exercise demonstrated that even with the same data, reasonable experts can reach different conclusions—and pricing requires judgment, experimentation, and continual monitoring.

The broader lesson: pricing is often where another problem shows up, not where the problem begins.

Key Takeaways

• Diagnose before discounting. Examine traffic, follow-up, tours, applications, lead quality, staffing, product, and conversion before changing rent.
• More leads aren't necessarily better. Poor targeting can increase volume while reducing qualified traffic.
• Give onsite teams a voice. Leasing teams hear objections and understand renter behavior that dashboards may miss.
• Use creative incentives strategically. Targeted perks can create urgency or differentiation without permanently reducing face rent.
• Avoid knee-jerk reactions. A competitor changing concessions doesn't automatically mean you should follow.
• Pricing is wrong when everything else is working and renters still aren't converting. As Blanc concluded, if you can't identify where the funnel is breaking, price probably isn't the first thing to fix.