One of the fundamental pillars of revenue management has always been the predictable shape of demand. We have taken for granted that while the magnitude of demand changes during economic upswings and downturns the seasonal pattern itself remains constant.
Until Post-Covid.
In this modern market, your old assumptions are costing you revenue. The data shows a shift so pronounced that it requires immediate, strategic attention.
The Seasonality Shift Trap
Equity Residential’s earnings call noted that, “We’ve seen the seasonal decline in traffic begin one month earlier than usual”. Everything feels accelerated, or “pulled forward“.
Mark Parrell, President and CEO of Equity Residential, observed this trend in 3Q25, noting:
“This was most pronounced in Washington, DC, but did manifest itself in other markets as well… The leasing season started earlier than usual and peaked earlier than usual.”
It is time for a shift in our thinking. The leasing season now starts and peaks earlier than it historically has and it varies by market.
A Strategic Seasonality Data Mandate for Property Management
This is a mandate for data-driven seasonality action. If you have not taken the time to research the actual seasonality of your communities in the last 12-18 months, your supply and demand could be critically out of balance.
The consequence of relying on obsolete data is clear: sub-optimal occupancy and pricing leading to underperformance in revenue.
- Deepen Your Analysis: To correct this, you must align your tour demand and time from tour to move-in data. This analysis allows you to create accurate lease expiration profiles for your community, market, and bedcounts.
- Shape Your Expectations: Use this new data to reshape your lease expirations or your seasonality expectations.
- Accelerated Fix: Don’t have time for an in-depth analysis? A quick, though temporary, solution is to shorten the time frame of historical data your pricing software reviews.
This allows the software to be more representative of the recent, post-COVID history. (Unless, of course, your forecast is that 2025 was simply an anomaly).
Revenue. Accelerated.
Every pricing software and operations team wants to see supply and demand balanced. This balance is what prevents a community from over- or under-pricing units and ensures you have the right inventory when the customer wants it.
We don’t guess. We optimize. Be confident, be strategic. Adjusting to the new shape of seasonality is a decisive investment in revenue.
Curated by Bryan Pierce, Founder of IgniteRevs
Ready to stop guessing and start growing revenue? Don’t wait another week to optimize your revenue strategy. Contact Bryan Pierce today at [email protected] to schedule your personalized strategy consultation and put Revenue Intelligence with Velocity to work for your portfolio.
