Boom’s Post

Big headline out from our friends at TransUnion in a recent report: rent reporting is growing fast. TU reported that the number of PMs reporting rent (of PMs surveyed by TU, and which were aware of rent reporting) grew by 33% this year, and grew 36% last year. Amazing! But wait. Does that feel too fast? Having worked at BCG, I know all too well to dig into the footnotes (old habits die hard), especially when absolute figures aren’t provided. Long story short, 108 property managers were surveyed, and the growth rates were based on the 48% of PMs who were aware of rent reporting, which would equate to 52 PMs in the sub-sample. We can do some reverse math and see how the PMs in TU's sample that report rent have grown from 29 → 39 → 52 over the last 3 years (assuming the same TU size sample, which certainly may not be the case). I would add to this that these 108 PMs may have some relationship to TU (maybe rental advisory board and/or using a TU product), and therefore may be more inclined to report rent. But all that said ... The directional trend of rent reporting growth is still almost certainly correct. 📈 Why do I think so? (1) Our calendars have been filling faster than ever with demos (s/o Carl Osbourne), with record inbound interest (2) We have actually started switching enough property managers to Boom from other rent reporting vendors that 2 of the credit bureaus have actually to implement ‘vendor switch’ processes for us to make it more programmatic → this tells me that greenfield space is becoming a little less easy to find   Why is this happening? (1) Gen Z - Gen Z is increasingly is looking for it (says the TU report), potentially driven by new self-reporting third-party apps, like the Boom app (2) New regulation & related initiatives - not mentioned by the report, but Fannie/Freddie have been a part of this, as have new bills like CA AB2747 requiring the offer of rent reporting, which I wrote about previously (link in comments) (3) Better tech available - it’s now just easier to report rent, whether your property manager, fintech, or PMS, which I wrote about my post on the Future of Rent Reporting (link in comments) As we approach 2025, I expect the practice of rent reporting, both renter- and property manager-initiated, to continue to grow. As always, if you’re looking for the solution that’s most cost effective and streamlined, shoot me a DM 💥